Nigerian Extradited From Mexico Gets 8 Years In U.S. Prison For N1.75Billion Tax Fraud
Nigerian Extradited From Mexico Gets 8 Years In U.S. Prison For N1.75Billion Tax Fraud
Matthew A. Akande, 37, was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in federal court in Boston to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
A Nigerian national residing in Mexico has been sentenced in the United States after being extradited for his involvement in a cyber fraud scheme targeting tax preparation firms in Massachusetts.
Matthew A. Akande, 37, was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in federal court in Boston to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, District of Massachusetts, Akande conspired with others to use stolen taxpayer information to file more than 1,000 fraudulent tax returns, seeking millions of dollars in illegitimate refunds.
In addition to his prison term, Akande was ordered to pay restitution of $1,393,230 (approximately ₦1.87 billion).
Akande was arrested in October 2024 at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom at the request of U.S. authorities and was extradited to the United States on March 5, 2025.
A federal grand jury had indicted him in July 2022 on multiple charges, including conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to protected computers in furtherance of fraud, theft of government funds, and money laundering.
He also faced one count of wire fraud, four counts of unauthorized access to protected computers, 13 counts of theft of government money, and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft.
Between June 2016 and June 2021, Akande collaborated with others in a scheme to defraud the United States government by using taxpayers’ personally identifiable information (PII) to file fraudulent tax returns in their names.
The operation involved stealing sensitive taxpayer data from tax preparation firms in Massachusetts through phishing attacks and unauthorized access to their computer systems.
As part of the scheme, Akande orchestrated the sending of fraudulent phishing emails to five tax preparation firms. These emails appeared to come from prospective clients seeking tax services but were designed to trick recipients into installing remote access trojan (RAT) malware, including a program known as Warzone RAT.
Once installed, the malware enabled Akande to gain unauthorized access to the firms’ computer networks and obtain clients’ personal and tax information from previous years. He then used the stolen data to file fraudulent tax returns and request refunds.
The fraudulent refunds were directed into bank accounts opened in the United States by his co-conspirators.
After the funds were deposited, the co-conspirators withdrew the money in cash and transferred a portion to associates in Mexico under Akande’s instructions, while retaining a share for themselves.
Over the course of nearly five years, Akande and his accomplices filed more than 1,000 fraudulent tax returns, seeking over $8.1 million in refunds. Of that amount, they successfully obtained more than $1.3 million (N1.75 billion).
The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks, and IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas Demeo.
Akande’s extradition was coordinated by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs in cooperation with authorities in the United Kingdom. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit.
