US jails Nigerian eight years for $10.8m hacking, fraud schemes

A United States court has sentenced a 40-year-old Nigerian, Chukwuemeka Amachukwu, to eight years in prison for hacking, identity theft and fraud schemes that targeted hundreds of victims and generated millions of dollars.

Amachukwu was also ordered to forfeit $10.8m and pay more than $3.64m in restitution, according to a statement issued by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York on Monday.

The defendant, also known as Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo and So Kwan Leung, was sentenced by US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors said Amachukwu and his co-conspirators, including Kingsley Uchelue Utulu, began targeting US tax preparation businesses in 2019 through spear-phishing emails designed to gain access to their electronic systems.

They allegedly stole tax and personal information belonging to about 800 customers of several businesses in New York, Texas and other states.

The stolen information was then used to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities, seeking refunds totalling at least $8.4m.

The conspirators successfully obtained at least $2.5m through the fraudulent tax filings, the statement said.

They also used stolen identities to submit fraudulent applications to the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme, securing at least $819,000 in illicit payments.

In a separate scheme, Amachukwu allegedly defrauded US victims by offering investments in purportedly valuable standby letters of credit. He reportedly impersonated a wealthy foreign financier to persuade victims to invest in the nonexistent opportunities.

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The scheme generated more than $7m for Amachukwu and his co-conspirators, according to prosecutors.

US Attorney Jamie McDonald said the schemes caused significant harm to victims and the public.

“Amachukwu took part in sophisticated schemes to hack into U.S. businesses, steal and use stolen identity information of victims, and commit fraud,” McDonald said.

“These crimes imposed significant harm on the victims and the public, and so it is only appropriate that the crimes also come with a significant sentence for the defendant,” he added.

Beyond the eight-year prison sentence, Amachukwu was ordered to serve one year of supervised release and pay $3,647,629.39 in restitution to victims.

The court also ordered him to forfeit $10,846,634.39.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted in the investigation, while Assistant US Attorney Daniel G. Nessim handled the prosecution.