The United States Department of Justice has revealed how a Nigerian national, Matthew Akande, orchestrated a large-scale tax fraud scheme that targeted more than 1,000 Americans and attempted to swindle over $8.1m in fraudulent refunds.
In a statement released on Thursday, the department said Akande was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment after investigators uncovered the scheme, which successfully generated about $1.3m before it was dismantled.
According to US authorities, the 37-year-old operated from Mexico prior to his arrest at Heathrow Airport in October 2024, following years of investigation into the cyber-enabled fraud.
Prosecutors disclosed that between June 2016 and June 2021, Akande collaborated with accomplices to defraud the US government by submitting falsified tax returns using stolen identities and confidential taxpayer information.
Investigations showed that the suspects obtained sensitive data from tax preparation firms in Massachusetts through phishing emails and cyber intrusions designed to compromise computer systems.
The Justice Department explained that fraudulent emails, disguised as legitimate client inquiries, were sent to the firms, tricking them into installing malicious software known as Warzone RAT, which allowed unauthorised access to client records.
With the stolen personal information and previous tax data, Akande allegedly filed fake tax returns directing refunds into bank accounts controlled by his collaborators in the United States.
Authorities said the funds were withdrawn upon payment by the Internal Revenue Service and subsequently transferred to associates in Mexico, while members of the syndicate retained portions of the proceeds.
Akande was charged in 2022 on multiple counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft and theft of government funds, before being extradited to the United States to face trial in a federal court in Boston.
A US District Court judge, Indira Talwani, sentenced him to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay restitution of $1,393,230 to cover losses linked to the fraudulent operation.