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A Nigerian national, Kingsley Utulu, has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison due to his involvement in a significant hacking and identity theft operation that defrauded U.S. tax authorities and individual citizens of over $2.5 million.
The sentencing, revealed on Saturday by Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, along with Christopher Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, follows Utulu's guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
Clayton remarked, “Kingsley Uchelue Utulu participated in a plot to infiltrate U.S. tax preparation businesses, trade in stolen personal identifiable information, and cheat the IRS and other governmental agencies.
“Scammers like Utulu and his accomplices may believe they can exploit hardworking Americans without facing legal consequences.
The Department and the FBI send a clear message they cannot. We are dedicated to protecting Americans from criminals based abroad.” Raia echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that Utulu’s actions inflicted considerable damage.
He noted, “Kingsley Utulu, a Nigerian national, was involved in a scheme that breached electronic systems of U.S.-based companies, leading to the theft of over two million dollars through fraudulent tax filings.
“This defendant’s scheme, together with his co-conspirators, spanned globally, exploiting sensitive information for financial gain. “The FBI will not spare anyone attempting to unlawfully profit through deceptive practices, regardless of their location.”
A report from DataBreaches.net, which was accessed on Sunday and refers to public court records and statements, indicated that the scheme began in 2019.
The report highlights the need for safeguarding children from online predators. “Utulu and other conspirators based in Nigeria participated in the hacking of U.S.-based tax preparation businesses, employing spear-phishing emails to gain access to their electronic systems.
“After obtaining access, they pilfered tax and personal identification information from clients, hacking into multiple tax preparation firms located in New York, Texas, and other states,” the report stated.
The stolen identities were subsequently used to file fraudulent returns with the Internal Revenue Service and various state tax departments. The report further stated that “The conspirators aimed for at least $8.4 million in fraudulent refunds and managed to secure approximately $2.5 million.
“They also submitted fraudulent applications to the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, receiving an additional $819,000.”
Utulu, 38, was arrested in the United Kingdom and later extradited to the U.S. for trial. Besides his 63-month imprisonment, he was ordered to pay $3,683,029.39 in restitution and forfeit $290,250.
His conviction contributes to the increasing number of Nigerians facing prosecution in the U.S. and Europe for crimes linked to cyber-enabled financial fraud.
Earlier this January, two other Nigerians, Olutayo Ogunlaja and Abel Daramola, were found guilty of running an international romance scam worth $560,000 and are now facing potential sentences of up to 20 years in a U.S. federal prison.
