Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty in $1.5 Million Fresno County Wire Fraud Scheme

A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme that diverted more than $1.5 million in payments from Fresno County by fraudulently changing banking information for a Fresno nonprofit, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

According to court documents, Jafaar September Nyangoro, 53, of Franklin, Tennessee, conspired with co-defendant Peter Bah Acha, 46, of Berlin, Germany, and others to gain control of an email account used by the nonprofit’s finance director before Sept. 14, 2020. Posing as the finance director, the conspirators informed Fresno County that the nonprofit’s bank account information had changed and directed payments to a bank account Nyangoro had recently opened.

Believing the request was legitimate, county employees updated the nonprofit’s banking information. Between Sept. 24 and Oct. 13, 2020, Fresno County initiated several Automated Clearing House transfers totaling more than $1.5 million to Nyangoro’s account instead of the nonprofit’s account, according to prosecutors.

Court records state that Nyangoro, Acha, and others communicated through various means, including WhatsApp. After some of the transfers were reversed by Regions Bank on suspicion of fraud, Nyangoro sent a message on Oct. 16, 2020, stating: “We’re in deep s***. The last 3 transactions from County of Fresno have been reversed. Please call me ASAP!”

Nyangoro is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 21, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.

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