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The United States Department of Justice has filed a civil complaint to revoke the citizenship of Nigerian-born Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem over his involvement in a large-scale identity theft and tax fraud scheme.
According to the Department of Justice, Kazeem orchestrated a fraud operation that targeted over 259,000 victims and attempted to steal more than $91 million from the US Internal Revenue Service.
The complaint, filed in a US District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, alleges that Kazeem obtained American citizenship through fraud by concealing his criminal activities.
Kazeem was convicted in 2017 on 19 counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
He served about six years before his sentence was commuted in December 2024 as part of a broader clemency programme.
Authorities stated that his criminal activities occurred both before and after his naturalisation, which disqualified him from lawfully obtaining citizenship.
The complaint also alleges that Kazeem entered into a sham marriage to secure permanent residency before contracting another marriage, further violating US immigration laws.
Investigators said the fraud scheme involved purchasing more than 91,000 stolen identities from a foreign hacker and distributing them to co-conspirators.
The stolen identities were used to file over 10,000 fraudulent tax returns between 2012 and 2015, seeking more than $91 million in refunds.
Of this amount, at least $11.6 million was successfully obtained, with over $2.1 million transferred through thousands of wire transactions, including funds sent to Nigeria.
Search operations uncovered prepaid debit cards, cash, money orders, and electronic devices linked to the scheme across multiple US states.
Prosecutors also stated that proceeds from the fraud were used to finance luxury purchases, including real estate and an attempted investment in a multi-million-dollar hotel project in Lagos.
The US government maintains that citizenship is a privilege and has vowed to revoke any status obtained through fraud and deception.
If the court rules in favour of the government, Kazeem could be stripped of his US citizenship.
According to the Department of Justice, Kazeem orchestrated a fraud operation that targeted over 259,000 victims and attempted to steal more than $91 million from the US Internal Revenue Service.
The complaint, filed in a US District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, alleges that Kazeem obtained American citizenship through fraud by concealing his criminal activities.
Kazeem was convicted in 2017 on 19 counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
He served about six years before his sentence was commuted in December 2024 as part of a broader clemency programme.
Authorities stated that his criminal activities occurred both before and after his naturalisation, which disqualified him from lawfully obtaining citizenship.
The complaint also alleges that Kazeem entered into a sham marriage to secure permanent residency before contracting another marriage, further violating US immigration laws.
Investigators said the fraud scheme involved purchasing more than 91,000 stolen identities from a foreign hacker and distributing them to co-conspirators.
The stolen identities were used to file over 10,000 fraudulent tax returns between 2012 and 2015, seeking more than $91 million in refunds.
Of this amount, at least $11.6 million was successfully obtained, with over $2.1 million transferred through thousands of wire transactions, including funds sent to Nigeria.
Search operations uncovered prepaid debit cards, cash, money orders, and electronic devices linked to the scheme across multiple US states.
Prosecutors also stated that proceeds from the fraud were used to finance luxury purchases, including real estate and an attempted investment in a multi-million-dollar hotel project in Lagos.
The US government maintains that citizenship is a privilege and has vowed to revoke any status obtained through fraud and deception.
If the court rules in favour of the government, Kazeem could be stripped of his US citizenship.
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Oyebade Oluwatobiloba
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