A United States court has sentenced a 47-year-old Nigerian, Imafedia Adevokhai, to 46 months in prison over his involvement in a multi-year stolen identity tax refund fraud amounting to $4,945,886.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, Abe McGlothin Jr.
According to the statement, Adevokhai conspired with two other convicted U.S-based Nigerians, Michael Martin and Osazuwa Okunoghae, to steal the identities of American citizens and file fraudulent tax refund claims.
The statement identified Adevokhai as being primarily responsible for preparing and filing the fake tax returns, while Martin and Okunoghae were involved in laundering the proceeds of the fraud.
It read, “According to information presented in court, Adevokhai, Martin, Okunoghae, and others were involved in a multi-year stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy involving the theft of victims’ personal identifying information and the use of that information to file fraudulent tax returns.
“The total tax refunds claimed through the fraudulent returns amounted to $4,945,886, and the U.S. Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, suffered at least $390,220.40 in actual loss.
“Adevokhai was involved in the preparation and filing of many of the fraudulent returns. Okunoghae and Martin were responsible for laundering the stolen funds. They collaborated with others who transferred the fraud proceeds through U.S. financial institutions and ultimately to foreign accounts.”
Following the investigation and prosecution, Adevokhai, 47, a resident of Alpharetta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to money laundering on 15 February 2023 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III on 2 April 2025.
Adevokhai was also ordered to pay $90,380.60 in restitution and $3,500 in forfeiture.
