A Nigerian identified as Kingsley Utulu has been sentenced to five years and three months in jail for his involvement in a large-scale hacking and identity theft scam that robbed the United States tax authorities and private persons of more than $2.5 million.
The sentencing, announced on Saturday by Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher Raia, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, comes after Utulu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Clayton noted, “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.
“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. We are committed to protecting Americans from criminals operating offshore.”
Raia, also reacting to the sentence, mentioned that Utulu’s actions caused significant harm.
Raia stated, “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 FBI will never exempt any individual who seeks to unlawfully profit through deceitful practices, regardless of where they are located.”
According to a report published by DataBreaches.net, public court records and statements revealed that the scheme dated back to 2019.
“Utulu and other Nigeria-based conspirators took part in a scheme to hack into U.S.-based tax preparation businesses. The conspirators utilised spearphishing emails to obtain access to these businesses’ electronic systems.
“Once access was gained, they stole tax and personal identifying information of clients, hacking into multiple tax preparation firms in New York, Texas, and other states,” the report noted.
The stolen identities were then used to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and various state tax agencies.
The report further revealed that “the conspirators sought at least $8.4 million in fraudulent refunds and successfully obtained around $2.5 million.
“They also filed fraudulent claims with the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, securing an additional $819,000.”
Utulu, 38, was detained in the United Kingdom and then extradited to the United States to face charges.
In addition to his 63-month jail sentence, he was sentenced to pay restitution of $3,683,029.39 and forfeit $290,250.
His conviction joins an increasing number of Nigerians prosecuted in the United States and Europe for cyber-related financial crimes.
