A Nigerian man, Kingsley Uchelue Utulu, has been sentenced to over five years in a U.S. federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in a sophisticated hacking and identity theft scheme that defrauded American citizens and government agencies of millions.
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The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, alongside FBI Assistant Director Christopher Raia, announced the sentencing over the weekend.
According to a PUNCH Metro report citing court documents and DataBreaches.net, the fraud operation dates as far back as 2019 and exploited U.S.-based tax preparation firms.
“Utulu took part in a scheme to hack into the systems of tax businesses, steal personal data, and file fraudulent tax returns with the IRS,” Clayton stated. “These criminals believed they could operate from abroad without consequences. They were wrong.”
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Raia added, “This defendant’s scheme reached across the globe to exploit sensitive information. The FBI remains committed to holding fraudsters accountable, regardless of their location.”
The report revealed that Utulu and his co-conspirators used spear-phishing emails to access the internal systems of multiple tax preparation businesses in states such as New York and Texas. The stolen personal data was then used to file fake tax returns, targeting both the IRS and state tax bodies.
Prosecutors said the group attempted to defraud the U.S. government of at least $8.4 million and successfully obtained $2.5 million in fraudulent refunds. Additionally, the group filed fake claims with the Small Business Administration’s COVID-era disaster loan program, securing $819,000.
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Utulu, 38, was arrested in the UK and later extradited to the United States. He was sentenced to five years and three months (63 months) and ordered to pay $3.68 million in restitution and forfeit $290,250 in assets.
His conviction adds to a growing list of cybercrime cases involving Nigerian nationals prosecuted in foreign jurisdictions. In January, two other Nigerians, Olutayo Ogunlaja and Abel Daramola, were convicted in a $560,000 romance scam.
The case underscores renewed global attention on cyber-enabled financial crimes and increased international cooperation to curb such offenses.
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