The Digest:
A Nigerian national, Mathew A. Akande, 37, has been sentenced to eight years in prison by a US federal court in Boston for his role in a scheme to break into Massachusetts tax preparation firms' computer networks and file fraudulent tax returns. Akande was also ordered to pay $1,393,230 in restitution. Between June 2016 and June 2021, Akande conspired with others to send phishing emails containing Warzone RAT malware to five tax preparation firms, stealing taxpayers' personally identifiable information (PII) and prior-year tax data. He used the stolen information to file over 1,000 fraudulent tax returns seeking more than $8.1 million, successfully obtaining over $1.3 million. Akande was arrested in the UK in October 2024 and extradited to the US in March 2025. He was convicted on charges including conspiracy, wire fraud, unauthorized computer access, theft of government money, and aggravated identity theft.
Key Points:
- The eight-year sentence demonstrates the severe consequences of cyber-enabled financial crimes.
- It sends a strong deterrent message to transnational fraud networks targeting US systems.
- Victims and the US government recover part of their losses, while Akande faces lengthy imprisonment.
- This signals the reach of US law enforcement in extraditing and prosecuting international cybercriminals.
- The timing, with restitution ordered, provides some compensation for losses.
SOURCES
Linda Ikeji's Blog, US Department of Justice
