Three Nigerians, Francis Nwabueze Iwuoha, 38, Oluwadamilare
Gbenga Macaulay, 32, and Olufemi Oluwaseun Banjo, 37, who is also known as
“Femi Banjo.”face felony charges in the United States for their alleged
involvement in a scheme to steal income tax refunds using identity theft.
Two of the Nigerians, Banjo and Iwuoha are based in Lagos,
while Macaulay is based in Abuja.
U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald announced on Wednesday that
the three defendants, who are now fugitives, have been charged with wire fraud,
aggravated identity theft and conspiracy related to the alleged scheme.
According to the allegations in the indictments, from
approximately March 2016, through approximately February 2018, BANJO, IWUOHA,
and MACAULAY, gained unauthorised access to internet accounts of thousands of
individual victims to steal Personal Identifying Information (PII) and IRS W-2
Forms, which they used to file false tax returns in the names of the individual
victims seeking fraudulent refunds.
As part of the scheme, BANJO, IWUOHA, MACAULAY, and others
gained unauthorised access to approximately 1,200 individuals’ accounts
maintained by a Minnesota-based company that provides human resource and
payroll services to numerous businesses.
The accounts were registered with a web-based program that
allowed employees to download a copy of their IRS Form W-2 from an internet
portal. After fraudulently obtaining PII and tax information from the accounts,
BANJO, IWUOHA, MACAULAY, and others used the information to prepare and electronically
file fraudulent tax returns with the IRS.
As part of the scheme, BANJO, IWUOHA, MACAULAY, and others
also gained unauthorised access to individuals’ accounts maintained by the
Department of Education by exploiting an online tool that facilitates the
transfer of individuals’ PII and tax information from the IRS website to the
Department of Education.
The defendants used the stolen information to prepare and
electronically file fraudulent tax returns with the IRS. As a result of the
scheme, BANJO, IWUOHA, MACAULAY, and others attempted to claim a total of
approximately $16.4 million in fraudulent tax refunds.
“These cases are the result of an investigation conducted by
the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, and the FBI”, Erica
MacDonald said.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie E. Allyn and Angela M. Munoz
are prosecuting the cases.
“We remain optimistic that the defendants will have their
date in court in the U.S., but we can’t get into further detail with respect to
our apprehension efforts,” U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Tasha Zerna told
The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The particulars:
OLUFEMI OLUWASEUN BANJO, a/k/a “Femi Banjo,” 37, Lagos,
Nigeria
Charges: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, Wire
fraud, 4 counts, Aggravated identity theft, 4 counts
FRANCIS NWABUEZE IWUOHA, 38, Lagos, Nigeria
Charges:Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, Wire
fraud, 5 counts, Aggravated identity theft, 5 counts
OLUWADAMILARE GBENGA MACAULAY, 32, Abuja, Nigeria
Charges:Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, Wire
fraud, 3 counts, Aggravated identity theft, 3 counts
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