A Nigerian national, Kingsley Utulu, has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison in the United States for his role in a cybercrime operation that defrauded American tax agencies and individuals of over $2.5 million.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and FBI New York Field Office Assistant Director, Christopher Raia. Utulu had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
“Kingsley Uchelue Utulu took part in a scheme to hack into the U.S. tax preparation businesses, trade in the stolen personal identifying information, and defraud the IRS and other governmental bodies,” said Clayton.
“Offshore scammers like Utulu and his co-conspirators may think they can target hard-working Americans with their hacking and fraud schemes and avoid prosecution. The message from the Department and the FBI is clear — they cannot.”
FBI official Raia highlighted the far-reaching impact of the scheme: “Kingsley Utulu, a Nigerian national, was part of a scheme that targeted and infiltrated electronic systems of U.S.-based companies to steal well over two million dollars through fraudulent tax returns. Along with his co-conspirators, this defendant’s scheme reached across the globe to exploit sensitive information for financial gain.”
The fraud operation, which began in 2019, involved Nigeria-based actors who used spearphishing techniques to breach U.S. tax preparation firms in states like New York and Texas. The group stole personal and tax information to file fake tax returns and also submitted fraudulent applications to the Small Business Administration’s loan program during the pandemic, securing an additional $819,000.
According to court documents cited by DataBreaches.net, the group attempted to claim as much as $8.4 million in refunds, successfully pocketing about $2.5 million.
Utulu, 38, was arrested in the United Kingdom and extradited to the U.S. for trial. Alongside his prison term, he has been ordered to pay $3.68 million in restitution and forfeit $290,250.
His conviction follows a broader trend of cybercrime-related prosecutions involving Nigerian nationals. Earlier this year, two other Nigerians were convicted in a separate $560,000 romance scam and now face lengthy prison terms in the U.S.
