Nigerian Matthew Akande Sentenced for Tax Fraud Scheme

Matthew Akande, a 37-year-old Nigerian, was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay $1.39 million in restitution following his conviction for a U.S. tax fraud scheme. Akande was extradited from the United Kingdom in March 2025 after his arrest at Heathrow Airport in October 2024.

He was charged with stealing taxpayer information and filing fraudulent tax returns targeting a Massachusetts tax preparer firm. The U.S.

Department of Justice and the FBI confirmed that Akande's scheme involved phishing emails and remote access trojans, including Warzone RAT, to file approximately 1,000 fraudulent tax returns seeking $8.1 million in refunds, which were intended to be transferred to Mexico. The FBI successfully recovered $1.3 million of the stolen refunds between June 2016 and June 2021.

Akande's case reflects a broader trend of Nigerian nationals facing U.S. charges related to cybercrime and financial fraud.