Hacker extradited to US for stealing $3.3 million from taxpayers

Nigerian national Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu has been extradited from France to the U.S. to face charges of hacking, fraud, and identity theft for suspected spearphishing attacks on U.S. tax preparation businesses.

The attackers were designed to steal personal data and file fraudulent tax and loan applications, allowing threat actors to steal over $3 million in total.

Specifically, the Nigerian national allegedly obtained approximately $2,500,000 from fraudulent tax refunds (out of $8.4 million attempted), and another $819,000 from fraudulent SBA loan applications.

The DOJ says Amachukwu was running a separate scam involving fake investment opportunities.

“Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu took part in a scheme to hack into U.S. tax businesses, trade in the stolen identifying information of victims, and defraud the IRS and other governmental bodies,” stated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.

“Amachukwu also allegedly took part in a separate fraud scheme that promised his victims valuable investments that did not in fact exist.”

According to the indictment, Amachukwu launched spearphishing attacks between 2019 and 2021, along with co-defendant Kingsley Uchelue Utulu, and other co-conspirators in Nigeria, targeting U.S.-based entities.

The hackers used the phishing emails to gain unauthorized access to their targets’ computers and steal tax and personally identifiable information (PII) of thousands of U.S. citizens.

They then used this information to file fraudulent IRS tax returns and SBA loan claims, causing damages of over $3.3 million to the U.S. state.

In parallel, Amachukwu ran a fake investment scheme involving non-existent standby letters of credit, where victims were convinced to invest millions of dollars in fictitious offerings. In reality, all money went directly to Amachukwu, and no investments were made.

The extradited individual now faces charges corresponding to six counts, including: 

• Conspiracy to Commit Computer Intrusions (5 years max)
• Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud (two counts, 20 years each)
• Wire Fraud (two counts, 20 years each)
• Aggravated Identity Theft (mandatory 2-year consecutive sentence)

Moreover, the U.S. seeks forfeiture of all fraud proceeds, including funds, property, or other valuables derived from the criminal schemes, or substitute assets of the same value.

Amachukwu was extradited from France on August 4, 2025, and appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger for his initial court hearing the next day. A trial date has not been scheduled yet.