Last Updated on May 16, 2017 8:11 pm
Appalachian State University has fell victim to a fraud, costing nearly two million dollars.
Someone posing as a Rodgers Builders finance technician emailed the university in early December 2016 with new routing information for a bogus bank account, according to multiple media reports. The ASU employee handling payment did not recognize the difference in email addresses, from previous communications, and processed the payment, reports say.
Rodgers Builders is currently working on the new health sciences building, located near the intersection of State Farm Road and Deerfield Road. Appalachian State filed a complaint on Friday May 12 in U.S. District Court.
The bogus bank account belongs to Royce Hub Trading, according to reports, and the payment situation was discovered after Rodgers contacted ASU requesting payment in late December 2016.
According to a statement from Paul Forte, Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs, “As a result of the quick action of Appalachian staff and the diligence of law enforcement, we expect to recover the vast majority of the stolen monies.”
The investigation is ongoing.
