A Nigerian man, Kingsley Utulu, has been sentenced to five years and three months in a United States prison for his role in a major identity theft and hacking scheme that stole over $2.5 million from US tax authorities and citizens.
The sentence was announced over the weekend by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and FBI New York Assistant Director, Christopher Raia.
Utulu, 38, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to Clayton, “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.”
He added, “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 FBI will never exempt any individual who seeks to unlawfully profit through deceitful practices, regardless of where they are located.”
Utulu was first arrested in the United Kingdom and later extradited to the United States to face trial.
In addition to his prison sentence, the court ordered Utulu to pay back \$3,683,029.39 and to forfeit $290,250 he gained through the crime.
This case comes shortly after two other Nigerians, Abel Daramola and Olutayo Ogunlaja, were convicted in the US for a $560,000 international romance scam. They are now facing up to 20 years in federal prison.
