North Carolina man accused of defrauding CT companies out of more than $500K in email scam

A North Carolina man believed to be “heavily” involved in fraud scams involving businesses whose email addresses are compromised was arrested by authorities last week on larceny and identity theft charges in connection with a scam that defrauded Connecticut companies out of more than $500,000.

Cedrick Swinson, 49, of Raleigh, North Carolina was charged last Tuesday with one count each of first-degree larceny, first-degree forgery, first-degree identity theft and criminal impersonation, according to the Farmington Police Department.

According to police records, Farmington officers took custody of Swinson at Bradley International Airport. He is being held on $130,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on July 18.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, a representative of Intertown Realty Company in Hartford was attempting to transfer $513,247 to Greene Law, P.C. in Farmington in October 2022 for a property that was being purchased from someone with the law firm. Intertown Realty manages properties in the greater Hartford area and had sent multiple emails back-and-forth with an email address tied to the firm, the warrant affidavit said.

The representative of the realty company believed she was emailing a business partner with the law firm when she was provided instructions on where to make the wire transfer, the warrant affidavit said.

When an attorney with the realty company requested a phone call to clarify some of the instructions, the user on the other end, still purporting to be a partner with the firm, allegedly said he was suffering a toothache and would not be able to talk, as he had to go to a dentist appointment immediately, according to the warrant affidavit. The user then allegedly requested that any questions be emailed instead.

According to the warrant affidavit, the transfer was done on Oct. 27, 2022, and was confirmed by an email from the purported law firm partner. Days later, someone from the firm emailed the company and asked when the transfer would be done.

It was realized at that point that something had gone awry, and investigators later learned that the email account from the law firm that was originally used to communicate in the transfer discussions had been compromised and was “not a fake domain,” the warrant affidavit said.

According to the warrant affidavit, investigators were able to find that the bank account where the transfer went was allegedly tied to Swinson and another man, who authorities were not able to identify, under a transport services LLC. Authorities found that Swinson’s prior criminal history included charges of robbery, grand theft, breaking and entering, felony worthless checks, identity theft, financial identity fraud and fugitive from the state, the warrant affidavit said.

Using a search and seizure warrant for the bank account where the transfer was sent, authorities allegedly found that a check for nearly $200,000 had been issued from the account to an account belonging to a trucking LLC, the warrant affidavit said. The account tied to the trucking company was reportedly flagged for fraud and closed by the bank in November 2022, according to the warrant affidavit.

Authorities with the Raleigh Police Department responded to Swinson’s home in March 2023 to question him regarding the wire transfer. During the interview, Swinson allegedly said he was made aware of the six-figure wire transfer by a representative from his bank, who also informed him his account was being closed, the warrant affidavit said.

Initially, Swinson allegedly told investigators he did not know anything about the wire transfer, including where it came from, and that he had nothing to do with initiating it, the warrant affidavit said. He allegedly went on to say he “was not doing anything” and that the wire came to him as a “form of payment,” according to the warrant affidavit.

Swinson, the warrant affidavit said, also alleged that he was told by someone from the bank that the situation involved a “beneficiary name problem” and asked investigators if the transfer was not supposed to go to his account then “why did it?”

He allegedly told authorities that he works for a transport company that acquires and pays for “road contracts” and that he gets paid through a man who goes by “Benny,” according to the warrant affidavit. When authorities searched for “Benny’s” full name, they did find any information.

Swinson alleged that “Benny” wires him money for work he does and that his business is a “cloudy system,” the warrant affidavit said.

Investigators noted in the warrant affidavit that Swinson’s answers were “often confusing and did not provide a fully detailed explanation.” They also allege that he used a folder he was holding and other sounds during the interview to multiples times “delay providing answers,” many of which he appeared to be “making up,” the warrant affidavit said.

“Based on Swinson’s interview it appears he is heavily involved in large business email compromise frauds and that he has experience with this type of criminal activity,” police wrote.

During the investigation, authorities were reportedly able to recover about $487,619 of the missing funds, the warrant affidavit said. About $25,628 was not able to be recouped.

According to North Carolina court records, Swinson was arrested by the Raleigh Police Department in March and charged as a fugitive from justice.