A 40-year-old Nigerian man, Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, has been sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for his role in hacking, identity theft and fraud schemes that targeted American businesses and individuals.This was disclosed in a statement by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, who said that Amachukwu, also known as So Kwan Leung, was sentenced by US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.“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. Amachukwu took part in sophisticated schemes to hack into U.S. businesses, steal and use stolen identity information of victims, and commit fraud,” McDonald said.According to the US Attorney, beginning in at least 2019, Amachukwu, his co-conspirator Kingsley Uchelue Utulu and other Nigeria-based accomplices targeted tax preparation businesses in New York, Texas and other parts of the US.The group allegedly used spear-phishing emails, targeted messages designed to trick recipients into revealing information or granting access to computer systems to infiltrate the businesses’ electronic systems.After gaining access, they stole tax records and other identifying information belonging to approximately 800 customers of the affected businesses.McDonald said the group sought at least $8.4 million in fraudulent tax refunds and successfully obtained approximately $2.5 million, adding that they also exploited stolen identities to submit fraudulent applications to the US Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme, obtaining an additional $819,000 or more in illicit payments.Beyond the cyberattacks and tax fraud, Amachukwu participated in a separate investment scam involving purportedly valuable standby letters of credit.In the scheme, he allegedly impersonated a wealthy overseas financier to persuade US victims to invest in financial instruments that did not exist.Amachukwu and his accomplices collected more than $7 million from the fraudulent investment scheme, according to the US authorities.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, which was prosecuted by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Assistant US Attorney, Daniel G. Nessim, led the prosecution.McDonald said the offences caused serious harm to victims and the public, adding that the sentence held Amachukwu accountable for his actions.The prosecutor said that in addition to the eight-year prison sentence, Amachukwu was ordered to serve one year of supervised release after his imprisonment.The court also ordered him to pay $3,647,629.39 in restitution and forfeit $10,846,634.39.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.
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