Two Nigerian men, Akinade Raheem and Abayomi Eletu, have been charged in the United States over an alleged $100 million tax fraud scheme and could face up to 100 years in prison if convicted.
The U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday that the pair worked with others to obtain fraudulent tax refunds by posing as taxpayers and accountants.
Authorities allege they filed more than 300 false tax returns, claiming over $100 million from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Investigators said the suspects used stolen personal details, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers, to create fake IRS accounts and access private records between 2018 and 2023.
Both men are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering.
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Eletu faces additional charges, including multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. Raheem also faces several counts of access device fraud and identity theft.
“The defendants face maximum penalties 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, as well as a mandatory sentence of two years for aggravated identity theft,” the statement read.
Prosecutors said the suspects changed victims’ mailing addresses to ones controlled by their associates to intercept IRS messages.
They also allegedly moved the money through small money orders to avoid detection and spent it on cars, designer items and other goods.
The Justice Department said the charges were filed in federal courts in Georgia and Texas.
Eletu has been arrested in the United Kingdom at the request of U.S. authorities.