A Nigerian national arrived in the Northern District of Georgia following his extradition from the Republic of Benin to face federal indictment charges stemming from a sweeping stolen-identity tax refund fraud conspiracy that sought more than $100 million in illicit refunds. Federal prosecutors allege that the defendant and his co-conspirators compromised electronic payroll systems and human resource databases, harvesting sensitive personal identifiable information and Social Security numbers belonging to thousands of American taxpayers.
The conspirators then allegedly submitted thousands of falsified income tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service, directing fraudulent refunds onto prepaid debit cards and laundering proceeds through complex international banking networks. The extradition culminated years of joint investigations by the IRS Criminal Investigation division, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs. If convicted on the pending conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges, the defendant faces decades of federal incarceration.
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Sources:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/nigerian-man-extradited-benin-face-federal-charges-100-million-stolen-identity-tax