A United States court has sentenced 40-year-old Nigerian-born Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu to eight years in prison for his involvement in cyberattacks, identity theft and investment fraud schemes targeting American businesses and individuals.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, announced the sentence in a statement on Monday, identifying US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe as the presiding judge.
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 McDonald, the defendant and his associates exploited their offshore operations to target victims in the United States but have now been held accountable for their activities.
Investigations showed that Amachukwu, Kingsley Uchelue Utulu and other accomplices based in Nigeria began hacking American tax preparation firms around 2019.
The conspirators reportedly deployed spear-phishing emails to gain unauthorised access to the firms' electronic systems, obtaining tax records and other sensitive personal information belonging to about 800 customers.
The targeted companies operated in New York, Texas and other US states.
Prosecutors said the stolen information was used to submit fraudulent tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities. The group attempted to secure refunds worth approximately $8.4m but obtained at least $2.5m.
The conspirators also used victims' identities to file fraudulent applications under the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme, securing another $819,000 in illicit payments.
Amachukwu was further linked to an investment scam in which American victims were offered supposedly lucrative investments in standby letters of credit.
To gain their confidence, he allegedly impersonated a wealthy overseas financier, persuading victims to invest in financial instruments that did not exist.
The operation generated more than $7m in fraudulent proceeds for Amachukwu and his co-conspirators, according to the US Attorney's statement.
McDonald said the offences caused substantial financial and other harm to victims, adding that the prison sentence reflected the gravity of the crimes committed.
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