International cybercriminals steal millions from Delaware County school district in elaborate scheme
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- On Monday, school is set to start in the Chester Upland School District. Everything is ready - classrooms, chalk, books. Everything you need, except $3 million stolen by a cybercriminal.
Federal authorities are searching for the cybercriminal who stole $13 million from the Chester Upland School District of which $10 million were later recovered.
"This is one of the poorest school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Jack Stollsteimer, Delaware County District Attorney, said.
The theft was the result of an elaborate scheme. First, the criminal hacked into the school district's email account, then, emailed the State Budget Office asking for the district's bank account number to be changed.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education began sending money to the criminals instead of the school district through 25 payments between December 2020 and February 2021.
"This was a very sophisticated operation," Stacy Garrit, Pennsylvania treasurer, said.
Officials say some of the stolen money was transferred to overseas accounts and converted to cryptocurrency through a widow in Florida who had been tricked into helping the criminal after meeting him on eharmony.
"She believed that she was helping someone that she was falling in love with, but that she had never met," Stollsteimer said. "She was the conduit for moving that money."
The school district noticed the missing money and contacted police.
The treasury department was able to stop several payments before they were completed, thereby recouping $10 million.
"If treasury hadn't stopped that last payment, teachers might not have been paid their next paycheck," Stollsteimer said.
But $3 million are still missing.
Delaware County district attorney Jack Stollsteimer says he wants the state or the insurance carrier to make up the difference.
"We need the commonwealth and the insurance carrier to give a coherent declarative statement that these children are not going to be victimized through this scheme," he said.
Because this is an international crime, officials at the Delaware County District's Attorney's office are turning the investigation over to the feds.
So far, no arrests have been made.