Nigerian Man Extradited from Benin Faces U.S. Federal Court Over Alleged $100m Tax Refund Fraud Using Stolen Identities
A Nigerian man, Akinade Adedeji Raheem, 43, has appeared before a United States federal court over an alleged scheme to obtain more than $100 million in tax refunds using stolen identities.
Raheem was extradited from the Republic of Benin, where he was arrested in April, to face charges including fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. He was arraigned on Monday and remanded in the custody of the US Marshals Service pending further proceedings.
Prosecutors allege that Raheem and his co-conspirators filed more than 300 fraudulent tax returns between 2018 and 2023 using the identities of tax professionals and American taxpayers.
According to the US attorney’s office, Raheem, who lived in Atlanta, worked with Abayomi Quadri Eletu, a resident of the United Kingdom and Nigeria, and other alleged accomplices to obtain personal information, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers.
The information was allegedly used to submit false tax returns and direct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to pay refunds into prepaid debit cards sent to addresses controlled by the group.
US authorities said some of the proceeds were laundered through money orders and used to purchase second-hand cars at auctions, with some vehicles later shipped to Nigeria. The money was also allegedly spent on designer clothing and other items.
“The scope of the alleged fraud is staggering,” US Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said.
Prosecutors said federal agents attempted to arrest Raheem at his home in April, but a man who identified himself as Raheem spoke to them through a video doorbell and claimed he was not home.
Less than a week later, investigators learnt that Raheem had booked a flight from Mexico City to Benin. He arrived in the West African country on April 15 and was arrested by local authorities following an INTERPOL red notice.
The US attorney’s office said his extradition last week marked the second such transfer from Benin to the United States.
A federal grand jury in Georgia indicted Raheem on February 24 on multiple charges.
If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 20 years for money laundering and 10 years for access device fraud. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory two-year sentence.
Meanwhile, Eletu was separately indicted in Texas on February 17 and later arrested in the United Kingdom, where extradition proceedings are ongoing.
