A 40-year-old Nigerian man, Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, has been sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for his involvement in hacking, identity theft and fraud schemes targeting American businesses and individuals.The sentence was announced on Monday by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, who said Amachukwu was sentenced by US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe.Amachukwu, also known as Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo and So Kwan Leung, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.According to the US Department of Justice, Amachukwu, his co-conspirator Kingsley Uchelue Utulu and other Nigeria-based accomplices began targeting US tax preparation businesses in or around 2019.The group allegedly used spear-phishing emails to gain access to the companies’ electronic systems, stealing tax records and personal information belonging to approximately 800 customers.Prosecutors said the stolen information was used to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities. The conspirators sought refunds totalling approximately $8.4m and successfully obtained at least $2.5m.The group also used stolen identities to submit fraudulent applications to the US Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme, obtaining at least an additional $819,000 in illicit payments.In a separate scheme, Amachukwu offered American victims investments in purportedly valuable standby letters of credit. Prosecutors said he impersonated a wealthy overseas financier to persuade victims to invest in financial instruments that did not exist.The scheme generated more than $7m in fraudulent proceeds for Amachukwu and his co-conspirators, according to the Justice Department.“Chukwuemeka Amachukwu believed he was operating safely offshore when he targeted his victims, but he has now been held to account and now faces a serious sentence for his crimes,” McDonald said.In addition to the eight-year prison term, Amachukwu was sentenced to one year of supervised release following his imprisonment. The court also ordered him to pay $3,647,629.39 in restitution and forfeit $10,846,634.39.The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
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