Eight held in US, Africa over internet, wire fraud scam

Federal prosecutors in Tennessee say eight people in the US and Africa have been arrested on charges of stealing millions from people and businesses around the world through a computer and wire fraud.

Authorities say the group broke into servers and email systems belonging to a Memphis-based real estate company and used fake emails to commit financial fraud.

The suspects also are accused of using internet scams involving romance, fraudulent checks, gold buying and credit cards to illegally ship money and goods to Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

Prosecutors say US citizens in Indiana and Washington state were arrested. Also arrested was a Mexican citizen living in California, a citizen of Ghana living in New York and a Nigerian citizen in Atlanta. Three other Africans were arrested in Ghana.