The City of Pittsburg wired $913,000 on Feb. 12 to a bank account fraudsters posed as belonging to Discovery Builders. The scam used a fake email address (with an extra lowercase "l") and an allegedly hacked city assistant's inbox to authorize a change in vendor banking details. An FBI probe led to 18 search warrants across 116 accounts; investigators recovered about $696,000 and pursued insurance for the remainder. Discovery Builders was paid in full within 60 days and the city has tightened payment and IT controls.
Pittsburg Wired $913,000 to Email Impostors — FBI Recovers Most Funds After Sophisticated Vendor Scam
City officials in Pittsburg, California, say they were the target of a sophisticated email fraud that led to a $913,000 wire transfer intended for a recreation-center contractor.
A mock-up shows the Dream Courts, a recreational facility in Pittsburg, California. Discovery Builders
What Happened
On Feb. 12 the City of Pittsburg wired $913,000 to a bank account it believed belonged to Discovery Builders Inc., the contractor for the planned Dream Courts sports and recreation complex. City staff did not realize the payment had been diverted until the legitimate contractor asked five days later why it had not received the funds.
The California city of Pittsburg intended to pay for the rec center when they sent scammers nearly $1 million. Zenstratus – stock.adobe.com
The scheme began with a deceptively small change: a fake Discovery Builders email address that inserted an extra lowercase "l." According to court records, the perpetrators then allegedly accessed the email account of Sara Bellafronte, an assistant to the city manager, and used it to impersonate her in messages to a finance employee.
The city said it has since beefed up payment verification, changed financial workflows and adjusted IT staffing. Matt Gush – stock.adobe.com
The counterfeit messages told the finance worker that Bellafronte had verbally confirmed new banking details and instructed staff to update the vendor account — prompting the wire transfer. The money moved quickly through a complex chain of accounts, triggering an FBI investigation.
Mayor Dionne Adams was born and raised in Pittsburg.
Investigation and Recovery
Authorities executed 18 search warrants covering 116 accounts and traced portions of the funds to two U.S.-based suspects and a third individual in Nigeria. No arrests have been announced and no suspects have been publicly identified.
The city faces an estimated loss of roughly $100,000. East County News
Investigators froze the account that initially received the city’s payment, enabling Pittsburg to recover roughly $696,000. Officials said they were pursuing insurance coverage for about $218,000 that remained missing after the freeze.
Court documents indicate one Illinois resident who received some funds may have been an unwitting participant: believing he worked for a legitimate firm called "Tyco Alloy Industries," he reportedly moved money and used about $217,000 to buy bitcoin, which he then transferred to a cryptocurrency wallet.
Aftermath and Responses
Discovery Builders President Louis Parsons said his company did not blame the city and noted the fraud’s sophistication. The builder has since required that a company representative physically collect checks from the city. According to Pittsburg officials, Discovery Builders ultimately received the full $913,000 within 60 days of learning of the scam.
"This crime is both upsetting and a hard lesson for how we can improve our security," Mayor Dionne Adams said. "I share the community's disappointment that criminals were able to exploit our systems."
Pittsburg officials said they have strengthened payment verification, revised financial workflows and adjusted IT staffing to guard against similar attacks. City estimates put the net loss related to the incident at roughly $100,000, according to local reporting.
Project Background
The Dream Courts project is planned as a 42,000+-square-foot sports and recreation facility aimed at boosting sports tourism. Pittsburg approved the project in 2020 with a budget cap of $3 million, though rising costs and labor negotiations have delayed construction.
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