A 40-year-old Nigerian national, Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, also known as Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo or So Kwan Leung, has been sentenced to eight years in prison by a United States court for his involvement in extensive hacking, fraud, and identity theft schemes.
The sentence was handed down by US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe following Amachukwu’s guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud.
Announcing the judgment, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, highlighted the global reach of cybercrime investigations, emphasizing that criminals operating offshore cannot evade justice. Amachukwu targeted US businesses and citizens, inflicting severe financial damage on victims before law enforcement intercepted his operations.
Court documents reveal that beginning in 2019, Amachukwu collaborated with Kingsley Uchelue Utulu and other co-conspirators based in Nigeria to launch sophisticated spearphishing campaigns against American tax preparation firms across New York, Texas, and several other states. By compromising the electronic systems of these entities, the group stole private personal and tax data belonging to at least 800 clients.
Armed with thousands of stolen identities, the syndicate submitted fraudulent tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service and state authorities. The group attempted to extract approximately 8.4 million dollars in unlawful tax refunds, successfully securing at least 2.5 million dollars.
The conspirators further exploited the stolen identities to lodge fraudulent claims under the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme, acquiring an additional 819,000 dollars in payouts.
Beyond the tax and relief fund intrusions, Amachukwu orchestrated a separate investment scam where he posed as an affluent overseas financier. He duped victims into investing in non-existent standby letters of credit, pocketing more than 7 million dollars through the deception.
Alongside his eight-year custodial sentence, Amachukwu will serve one year of supervised release. Judge Gardephe also ordered him to pay restitution amounting to 3,647,629.39 dollars and forfeiture totaling 10,846,634.39 dollars.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation, while Assistant US Attorney Daniel G. Nessim of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit prosecuted the case.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana