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A scammer successfully diverted a $1.9 million payment by Southern Oregon University intended for Andersen Construction.

The university announced the loss Wednesday, about a month after it learned it had been had in a business email swindle.

鈥淥ur whole process is meant to be secure; it obviously didn’t work in this instance,鈥� SOU spokesman Joe Mosley said. 鈥淭his was a serious scheme.鈥�

Portland-based Andersen is rebuilding about 90 percent of the university’s home basketball venue, McNeal Pavilion, in Ashland. The $29 million project is expected to wrap in January 2018.

SOU had received in late April an email purporting to be from an Andersen official requesting that its next payment be sent to a different bank account than what had been used previously.

Three business days after SOU wired the money, Andersen notified the university it had not received its scheduled April payment. The university contacted local police, the Oregon Department of Justice and Treasury and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The initial fraudulent email was put through 鈥渟everal鈥� steps to verify its authenticity before SOU wired the money to the new account. But Mosley said SOU doesn’t know if 鈥渧erification鈥� in this case involved a phone call or email to Andersen.

An internal investigation is under way.

鈥淓verything is being reviewed,鈥� he said.

The university is overseeing much more construction this year than usual. Facilities manager Drew Gilliland said three current projects are valued at $43 million, while $2 million is considered a normal workload.

Mosley said SOU has learned some of the $1.9 million remains in the account it was sent to and believes some can be recovered. The university is currently sorting the issue out with its various insurance companies.

鈥淚t’s really frustrating,鈥� Mosley said. 鈥淭he university is the victim in this, and we’re taught to not blame the victim. We have a process that’s intended to give us some security, and unfortunately, in this case, it didn’t work.鈥�