A federal court in Texas has handed down prison sentences to two Nigerian nationals and a Texan for their roles in a multi-million dollar tax refund scam.
The defendants, Imafedia Adevokhai, 47, Osazuwa Peter Okunoghae, 46, and Michael Martin, 52, were found guilty of exploiting stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns totaling nearly $5 million.
According to court documents, the trio was involved in a sophisticated Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) operation, using personal identifying information from dozens of victims to file fake tax returns.
The scam caused a confirmed loss of over $390,000 to the U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Adevokhai, a Nigerian national, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, while Okunoghae, also a Nigerian national, received the harshest sentence of 78 months.
Martin, the only American among the convicted, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The sentences were handed down by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III, who also ordered the defendants to pay restitution and forfeiture totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin Jr. emphasized the Eastern District of Texas’ commitment to prosecuting individuals involved in such schemes.
The IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) agents uncovered the fraud by tracing a complex network of financial transactions involving multiple U.S. and foreign bank accounts.
This case is part of a broader effort to combat SIRF crimes, which threaten the integrity of the U.S. tax system and drain billions from public coffers.
Federal authorities continue to prioritize prosecuting such schemes, warning those who would try to defraud the U.S. government or prey on law-abiding taxpayers.
