Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, announced that Kingsley Uchelue Utulu has been sentenced to 63 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe handed down the sentence for Utulu’s involvement in a hacking, fraud, and identity theft scheme targeting U.S.-based businesses and individuals.
“Kingsley Uchelue Utulu took part in a scheme to hack into U.S. tax preparation businesses, trade in the stolen personal identifying information, and defraud the IRS and other governmental bodies,” said Jay Clayton. “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 message from the Department and the FBI is clear, they cannot.”
FBI Assistant Director Christopher G. Raia added: “Kingsley Utulu, a Nigerian national, was part of a scheme that targeted and infiltrated electronic systems of U.S.-based companies to steal more than two million dollars through fraudulent tax returns. Along with his co-conspirators, this defendant’s scheme reached across the globe to exploit sensitive information for financial gain.”
The indictment details that beginning around 2019, Utulu and other Nigeria-based conspirators hacked into U.S.-based tax preparation businesses using spearphishing emails to access electronic systems. They stole customer tax information from several businesses located in New York, Texas, among others.
The conspirators filed fraudulent tax returns with stolen identities seeking refunds totaling approximately $8.4 million; they successfully obtained about $2.5 million. Additionally, they filed fraudulent claims with the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program obtaining approximately $819,000.
Utulu was arrested in the United Kingdom for his role in this scheme before being extradited to the United States for prosecution.
In addition to his prison sentence, Utulu was ordered to pay restitution amounting to $3,683,029.39 along with forfeiture of $290,250.
Jay Clayton praised the investigative work conducted by the FBI on this case handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Nessim from the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.
