A 40-year-old Nigerian man, Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, has been sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for his role in hacking, identity theft and multimillion-dollar fraud schemes....
A 40-year-old Nigerian man, Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, has been sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for his role in hacking, identity theft and multimillion-dollar fraud schemes.
Amachukwu, also known as Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo and So Kwan Leung, was sentenced by US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to a statement issued on October 19 by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Amachukwu and his co-conspirators targeted US tax preparation businesses, stole customers’ personal information and used the data to submit fraudulent tax returns and loan applications.
The schemes, which began in at least 2019, involved spear-phishing emails used to gain access to the electronic systems of tax preparation businesses in New York, Texas and other states.
The conspirators reportedly stole tax and identifying information belonging to customers of the targeted businesses, affecting approximately 800 customers in the identified hacking scheme.
They subsequently used stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities, seeking refunds totalling about $8.4 million.
The group successfully obtained at least $2.5 million through the fraudulent tax claims, according to the prosecution.
The conspirators also exploited the US Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme, obtaining approximately $819,000 in fraudulent payouts.
In a separate investment fraud scheme, Amachukwu allegedly offered victims investments in purportedly valuable standby letters of credit, impersonating a wealthy overseas financier to convince them the investments were genuine.
The investments did not exist, and Amachukwu and his associates obtained more than $7 million in fraudulent proceeds, the court filings said.
US Attorney Jamie McDonald said Amachukwu had targeted victims while believing he could operate beyond the reach of American law enforcement.
“Amachukwu took part in sophisticated schemes to hack into U.S. businesses, steal and use stolen identity information of victims, and commit fraud,” McDonald said.
He added that the crimes caused significant harm to victims and the public, making a substantial prison sentence appropriate.
In addition to the eight-year prison term, Amachukwu was sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to pay $3.64 million in restitution and forfeit $10.84 million.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted with the investigation, which was prosecuted by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.