A Nigerian man has been sentenced to eight years in prison by a United States federal court for his involvement in computer hacking, identity theft and multiple fraud schemes targeting American businesses and individuals.
Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, also known as Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo and So Kwan Leung, was sentenced by US District Judge Paul G. Gardephe in the Southern District of New York. He previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
United States Attorney Jamie McDonald said Amachukwu believed he was operating safely offshore when he targeted his victims but has now been held to account. “Amachukwu took part in sophisticated schemes to hack into US 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.”
Court documents state that from at least 2019 Amachukwu worked with co conspirator Kinglsey Uchelue Utulu and other conspirators based in Nigeria. The group used spearphishing emails to gain access to the computer systems of tax preparation businesses in New York, Texas and other states. They stole tax records and personal identifying information belonging to approximately 800 customers.
Using the stolen data, the conspirators filed fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service and state authorities. They sought refunds totalling approximately 8.4 million dollars and successfully obtained about 2.5 million dollars. They also submitted false claims to the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and received an additional approximately 819,000 dollars.
In a separate scheme, Amachukwu offered American victims investments in standby letters of credit that did not exist. Posing as a wealthy overseas financier, he and his co conspirators obtained more than 7 million dollars.
Amachukwu, aged 40, of Nigeria, was also sentenced to one year of supervised release. He must pay restitution of 3,647,629.39 dollars and forfeit 10,846,634.39 dollars.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant US Attorney Daniel G. Nessim of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit is handling the prosecution.
By John James
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