Nigerian man extradited to US from Benin ova $100 million tax fraud

Authorities for di United States of America don successfully extradite one Nigerian citizen wey dem accuse say im na internet fraudster.

Dem say Akinade Adedeji Raheem bin use stolen identities take file fraudulent tax returns for di kontri wey amount to more dan 100 million US dollars.

Dem carry Raheem from Benin Republic on Monday and as e touch down for di US dem carry am straight to court.

Authorities arraign am on charges of 'federal fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft charges.'

Dis development na continuation of di ongoing ogbonge joinbodi operation by security across di world wey don lead to arrest of hundreds of internet fraudsters and scammers, popularly known as 'yahoo boys' for Nigeria street slang.

Di US Attorney for di northern district of Georgia, Theodore Hertzberg tok say di level of di fraud wey Raheem allegedly commit dey "staggering" but im arrest don confirm say no alleged criminal go fit escape di reach of American justice.

How di fraud take hapun

According to information for di website of di US Department of Justice, Raheem and im group dey target hundreds of vulnerable taxpayers for di US and steal dia vital personal information like dia social security numbers.

Den dem go use dis stolen information to "file fraudulent tax returns... and launder di proceeds tru prepaid debit cards and purchases of used cars wey dem ship to Nigeria and oda locations".

Court documents wey authorities file betwin 2018 and 2023 show say Raheem and one oda Nigerian man, Abayomi Quadri Eletu, "bin join togeda to claim wuruwuru tax refunds using di stolen identities of accountants and American taxpayers".

Raheem bin dey live for Atlanta dat period while Eletu bin dey operate from di United Kingdom and Nigeria.

"Ova di course of dia scheme, dem allegedly file more dan 300 false tax returns claiming over $100 million in refunds from di IRS," U.S. Attorney Hertzberg tok.

"Raheem, Eletu, and odas bin allegedly obtain sensitive identifying information for tax professionals and taxpayers, including names, addresses, and Social Security numbers, by creating online accounts with the IRS and requesting private taxpayer information.

"Using di personal identifying information of odas, Raheem, Eletu, and dia co-conspirators allegedly filed tax returns claiming fraudulent refunds and den direct di IRS to split di refunds among prepaid debit cards shipped to addresses controlled by dia co-conspirators," Hertzberg add.

Afta di alleged 'fraudsters' don receive di moni for dia prepaid debit cards, dem go use am buy tins for small small moni so dat e no go trigger any checks, or use am buy cars from auction sites to ship down to Nigeria, or also buy designer items for sale.

Police for di US start to dey track Raheem since April 2026 but e run go Mexico and from dia e book flight to Benin Republic. So di authorities place am on Interpol red alert.

As Raheem dey touch down for Benin on April 16 2026, Interpol officers grab am and na so di court case to extradite am start.

"Last week, Benin authorities extradited Raheem to di United States, and dis na di second extradition to di United States from Benin in history," di DOJ statement tok.

"Raheem dey face maximum penalties of 20 years imprisonment for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 20 years for money laundering, and 10 years for access device fraud, plus mandatory sentence of two years for aggravated identity theft."

As for Eletu, wey be Raheem co-accused pesin wey dey based in di UK, authorities for di kontri don also arrest am and e dey face extradition charges for court.

Di DOJ describe di operation to arrest Raheem and Eletu as joinbodi project wey include di UK police, di Interpol National Central Bureau for Benin Republic, di Benin Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior, di Directorate General of di Police Republicaine; di Benin Republic Airport Police; and di Police Special Operations Group.

Oda times Interpol and di US arrest Nigerian nationals for cybercrime

One major operation wey law enforcement agency from 21 countries carry out to tackle cybercrime, ransomware, business email compromise and yahoo-yahoo across Africa bin lead to di arrest of 1,462 suspects.

Di International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) wey lead di Operation wey dem name Serengeti III, tok say citizens from Nigeria, Uganda, Angola, Tanzania, dey among di suspects dem arrest for cyber fraud.

For statement on Thursday, 22 October, di security agency say dem dismantle 10,909 harmful networks and recover more dan 105 million US dollars wey cybercriminals bin obtain illegally for di operation wey dem carry out between June to August 2026.

For October, 2026, one court for New York, United States, don sentence one Nigerian man identified as Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu to eight years in prison sake of hacking, multiple fraud and identity tiff-tiff.

Na di United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York make di informate inside one statement wey dem release on Monday, 19 October.

For Augiust, 2026, two Nigerians don land America to face prosecution on top accuse say dem dey involved in online sextortion schemes wey link to di death of one American teenager, according to di Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

FBI Director Kash Patel for one post on X say di men be "high-value targets from Nigeria" wey dem extradite to di US following separate investigations.

For September, South Africa say dem go extradite six Nigerians wey dey wanted for di United States ova alleged online romance scam.

Di suspects dey accused of targeting more dan 100 women across di US and allegedly defrauding dem of more dan 100 million rand ($6.2 million).

Di alleged victims include pensioners and business pipo wey dey targeted through sophisticated online relationships.