They were among 19 people charged in the Greater Houston area.

Two women from Fort Bend County were arrested as part of an FBI and international law enforcement money-laundering sting.Omomofe Esther Lawrence of Sugar Land and Lilian Taiye Obayemi of Rosenberg were caught in the four-month FBI operation called “Operation reWired,” which targeted Business Email Compromise (BEC) Schemes and their perpetrators, according to a news release from the FBI.A total of 281 people were arrested in the global operation, and nearly $3.7 million were seized by authorities, according to the FBI.The alleged launderers conducted a business email scheme to trick victims with access to company finances into wiring money into criminally controlled bank accounts.BEC criminals may also exploit vulnerable individuals like the elderly and others by convincing them to make wire transfers to their bank accounts.“Through Operation reWired, we’re sending a clear message to the criminals who orchestrate these BEC schemes,” FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said. “We’ll keep coming after you, no matter where you are. And to the public, we’ll keep doing whatever we can to protect you.”Locally, the sting was conducted by a multi-agency joint effort by the FBI Houston Field Office, Houston Police Department, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office (HCDAO), the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office (FBCDAO) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas. Reports say the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office will be handling the cases of Lawrence and Obayemi, and that there is no evidence the two were working together.