Cybersecurity
Nigerian man gets eight years in tax-fraud case
A US court sentenced Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu to eight years in prison after his guilty plea over spearphishing attacks on tax preparation firms and related frauds that prosecutors said cost millions.
- Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud.
- He had been extradited from France to the United States in August 2025 and was also known as Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo and So Kwan Leung.
- Court documents said that Amachukwu, Kingsley Uchelue Utulu and other Nigerian co-conspirators attacked tax preparation businesses in New York, Texas and other states between 2019 and 2021 and stole data from at least 800 customers.
- Prosecutors said the group obtained about $2.5 million in fraudulent tax refunds and $819,000 through fake loan applications to the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme.
- The court ordered $3.6 million in restitution and nearly $11 million in forfeiture, and the article said Amachukwu was also involved in a separate fake investment scheme that stole more than $7 million.
Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud. The case concerned spearphishing attacks against US tax preparation businesses.
He had been extradited from France to the United States in August 2025. The article said he also used the names Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo and So Kwan Leung.
Court documents said Amachukwu and Kingsley Uchelue Utulu, along with other Nigerian co-conspirators, targeted tax preparation firms in New York, Texas and other states between 2019 and 2021. They were said to have taken tax and personal data from at least 800 customers.
According to the court record, the group used stolen identities to file fraudulent tax and loan claims. Prosecutors said the scheme produced about $2.5 million in tax refunds and $819,000 from the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme.
The court also ordered $3.6 million in restitution and nearly $11 million in forfeiture. The article said Amachukwu also took part in a fake investment scheme involving standby letters of credit that stole more than $7 million.
Named in this story
People
- Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu
- was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty
- Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo
- was listed as one of his aliases
- So Kwan Leung
- was listed as one of his aliases
- Kingsley Uchelue Utulu
- was named as a co-defendant
- Jamie McDonald
- commented in the US Attorney’s press release
Governments and agencies
- Internal Revenue Service
- received fraudulent tax filings
- Small Business Administration
- had its disaster loan programme used in the fraud
Places
- France
- was the country he was extradited from
- United States
- was the country where he was extradited and sentenced
- New York
- was one of the states where tax businesses were targeted
- Texas
- was one of the states where tax businesses were targeted
How the source tells it
Mostly straight law-enforcement reporting, with a brief prosecutorial quote adding a moral frame.
- moral framing an attributed official quote presented the sentencing as accountability for harm