A Nigerian man has been sentenced to eight years in a U.S. prison for his role in wide-ranging hacking, tax fraud, identity theft, and investment fraud schemes. Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, also known as “Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo” and “So Kwan Leung,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The sentence was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York on October 19, 2026.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Amachukwu and Nigeria-based co-conspirators began targeting U.S. tax preparation businesses around 2019. They used spearphishing emails to gain access to the companies’ electronic systems, then stole tax and identity information belonging to at least about 800 customers. The affected businesses were located in New York, Texas, and other U.S. states.
The stolen data was allegedly used to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities. Prosecutors said the group sought fraudulent refunds of at least approximately $8.4 million and successfully obtained at least $2.5 million. The conspirators also used stolen identities to submit fraudulent claims under the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, receiving about $819,000 in additional payouts.
Amachukwu was also accused of participating in a separate investment fraud scheme. Prosecutors said he posed as a wealthy overseas financier to persuade U.S. victims to invest in purportedly valuable standby letters of credit. The investments did not exist, and Amachukwu and his co-conspirators allegedly pocketed more than $7 million in fraudulent proceeds.
In addition to the eight-year prison term, the 40-year-old was sentenced to one year of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $3,647,629.39 in restitution and forfeit $10,846,634.39. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the case demonstrated that offenders cannot assume they can operate safely from abroad, while the FBI was credited for its investigative work.
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Nigerian Hacker Sentenced To Eight Years For Fraud And Identity Theft