US Extradites Nigerian Over Alleged $100m Tax Refund Fraud

A 43-year-old Nigerian, Akinade Adedeji Raheem, has been extradited from the Republic of Benin to the United States to face federal fees over an alleged tax refund fraud scheme involving greater than $100m.

The US Department of Justice stated Raheem was arraigned on Monday in Atlanta, Georgia, on fees of fraud, cash laundering and aggravated identification theft after his extradition the earlier week.

According to the division, Raheem and his alleged co-conspirators filed greater than 300 fraudulent tax returns between 2018 and 2023, looking for over $100m in refunds from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Prosecutors alleged that the group used stolen identities belonging to American taxpayers and accountants to acquire private data, together with names, addresses and Social Security numbers.

The indictment said that the suspects allegedly created on-line accounts with the IRS to entry non-public taxpayer data and redirected correspondence to addresses they managed.

Using the stolen data, they allegedly submitted fraudulent tax returns and instructed the IRS to distribute the refunds by pay as you go debit playing cards despatched to addresses managed by the group.

The division stated a few of the proceeds had been subsequently laundered by cash orders bought in quantities designed to keep away from reporting thresholds.

Raheem and his alleged co-conspirators additionally used the cash to buy used autos at public sale, a few of which had been shipped to Nigeria, in addition to designer clothes and different gadgets, in accordance with prosecutors.

US Attorney Theodore S Hertzberg stated the alleged scheme concerned tons of of stolen identities and affected taxpayers throughout the nation.

“The scope of the alleged fraud is staggering,” Hertzberg stated, including that Raheem’s extradition demonstrated cooperation between regulation enforcement businesses throughout nationwide borders.

Court information present {that a} federal grand jury within the Northern District of Georgia indicted Raheem on February 24, 2026.

He faces one depend of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, one depend of conspiracy to commit cash laundering, 14 counts of entry machine fraud and 14 counts of aggravated identification theft.

If convicted, Raheem faces a most of 20 years in jail for the fraud conspiracy cost, 20 years for cash laundering conspiracy and 10 years for entry machine fraud. The aggravated identification theft cost carries a compulsory two-year jail sentence.

The US authorities stated Raheem was arrested within the Republic of Benin on April 15, 2026, underneath an INTERPOL Red Notice after travelling from Mexico City. He had beforehand lived in Atlanta.

His extradition marks the second time an individual has been extradited from the Republic of Benin to the United States, in accordance with the Justice Department.

A second defendant, Abayomi Quadri Eletu, who’s described as a resident of the United Kingdom and Nigeria, was individually indicted in February over the alleged scheme. He was arrested within the United Kingdom, the place extradition proceedings are pending.

Raheem stays within the custody of the US Marshals Service pending additional court docket proceedings.

The Justice Department confused that the indictment accommodates allegations and that Raheem is presumed harmless except confirmed responsible past an inexpensive doubt in court docket.