Kingsley Utulu, a Nigerian, has been sentenced to prison for
five years and three months for his involvement in a significant hacking and
identity theft operation that defrauded United States tax authorities and
private citizens of more than $2.5 million.
Utulu’s sentencing was announced by Jay Clayton, the United
States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, alongside Christopher
Raia, the Assistant Director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, at
the weekend.
They charged the 38-year-old Nigerian of aggravated identity
theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Clayton said, “Kingsley Uchelue Utulu took part in a scheme
to hack into the U.S. tax preparation businesses, trade in the stolen personal
identifying information, and defraud the IRS and other governmental bodies.
“Offshore scammers like Utulu and his co-conspirators may
think they can target hard-working Americans with their hacking and fraud
schemes and avoid prosecution.
“The FBI will never exempt any individual who seeks to
unlawfully profit through deceitful practices, regardless of where they are located.”
Utulu was apprehended in the United Kingdom, UK, and was
subsequently extradited to the United States to stand trial.
Alongside his prison term, Utulu was mandated to pay
restitution of $3,683,029.39 and to forfeit $290,250.
This latest development follows the recent convictions of
two other Nigerians, Abel Daramola and Olutayo Ogunlaja, who were found guilty
of running a $560,000 international romance scam.
They are now facing potential sentences of up to 20 years in
a United States federal prison.
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