The United States Department of Justice has explained how a Nigerian national, Matthew Akande, attempted to swindle more than 1,000 Americans out of $8.1m through a fake tax refund operation.
Details released by the department showed that although the scheme targeted over $8m, about $1.3m was actually paid out before authorities uncovered the fraud. Akande has now received an eight-year prison sentence.
Information published on the Justice Department’s website on Thursday revealed that the 37-year-old operated from Mexico before his arrest at Heathrow Airport in October 2024.
Investigators said the fraudulent activities occurred between June 2016 and June 2021. During that period, Akande worked with others to siphon funds from the United States government. They achieved this by submitting false tax returns with stolen personal data belonging to taxpayers.
According to the department, the group secured confidential records and previous tax filings from tax preparation firms based in Massachusetts. The information was obtained through phishing emails and illegal access to computer systems.
The statement read, “To carry out the scheme, Akande caused fraudulent phishing emails to be sent to five Massachusetts tax preparation firms. The emails purported to be from prospective clients seeking the firms’ services but were, in truth, used to trick the firms into downloading a remote access trojan, malicious software, including malware known as Warzone RAT.
“Akande used the RAT malware to obtain the PII and prior-year tax information of the firms’ clients, which he then used to file fraudulent tax returns seeking refunds.
“The tax returns directed that the fraudulent refunds be deposited into accounts opened by co-conspirators in the United States.”
Authorities added that once the Internal Revenue Service approved and released the refunds, Akande instructed his partners in the US to withdraw the money. Portions were then transferred to individuals in Mexico, while the conspirators kept a share.
“In total, Akande and his co-conspirators filed more than 1,000 fraudulent tax returns seeking over $8.1m in fraudulent tax refunds over approximately five years. They successfully obtained more than $1.3m,” the statement said.
Court documents show that Akande faced 32 charges in 2022. The counts included wire fraud, money laundering, theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft. He was later extradited to the United States and brought before a federal court in Boston.
The Department of Justice confirmed that Justice Indira Talwani of the US District Court handed down the sentence. The court found him guilty of hacking into the computer systems of Massachusetts tax preparation firms and submitting false tax returns.
“Matthew A. Akande, 37, was sentenced to eight years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $1,393,230 in restitution,” the statement added.
