US Seeks to Strip Nigerian Fraud Convict of Citizenship
- The United States Department of Justice had filed a civil complaint seeking to revoke the citizenship of Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem over his role in a large-scale tax fraud
- US authorities had said the fraud operation targeted more than 259,000 victims and attempted to steal over 91 million dollars from the Internal Revenue Service through thousands of false tax filings
- The Trump administration had said the denaturalisation move was part of a broader effort to strip citizenship obtained through fraud and misrepresentation
United States authorities have moved to revoke the citizenship of a Nigerian national convicted for his role in a sprawling identity theft and tax fraud operation that targeted hundreds of thousands of victims and sought tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent refunds.
The United States Department of Justice disclosed that it filed a civil complaint seeking to strip Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem of his American citizenship.
Source: Getty Images
Prosecutors alleged that the status was obtained through deception and deliberate concealment of criminal conduct. The complaint was lodged on Wednesday at the US District Court in Baltimore, Maryland.
Citizenship revocation effort begins
According to court filings, Kazeem was the central figure behind a sophisticated tax fraud network that exploited stolen personal data to file thousands of fake tax returns.
Investigators said the scheme attempted to extract more than 91 million dollars from the Internal Revenue Service, affecting over 259,000 victims across the United States.
Kazeem was convicted in 2017 on multiple counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy.
He received a 15-year prison sentence but served about six years before then-President Joe Biden commuted his sentence in December 2024.
The commutation was part of a broader action that affected nearly 1,500 individuals previously released to home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DOJ outlines basis for action
The Justice Department said its denaturalisation case rests on evidence that Kazeem engaged in extensive fraud before and after becoming a US citizen.
Prosecutors also alleged that he entered a sham marriage to secure permanent residency and later married another woman, an act that independently disqualified him from naturalisation.
The Civil Division Assistant Attorney General, Brett Shumate, said the administration under Donald Trump intends to pursue similar cases.
“The Trump Administration will not permit wrongdoers to retain the U.S. citizenship that they were never entitled to in the first place. U.S. Citizenship is a privilege, and we will continue to ask courts to revoke a status that was obtained through fraud and deceit.”
Source: Getty Images
How the fraud was uncovered
Federal investigators traced the scheme to May 2013 after a victim in Oregon alerted authorities that false federal and state tax returns had been filed using her family’s personal details.
Search warrants later executed in Illinois, Maryland and Georgia uncovered prepaid debit cards, money orders, cash and dozens of electronic devices linked to the operation.
Investigators said Kazeem purchased more than 91,000 stolen identities from a Vietnamese hacker and distributed them to co-conspirators, including his younger brother. The network filed over 10,000 fraudulent tax returns and successfully obtained more than 11.6 million dollars.
Authorities said portions of the proceeds were wired to Nigeria, used to acquire properties in Maryland and channelled toward a proposed hotel project in Lagos. Kazeem was ordered to pay over 12 million dollars in restitution following his sentencing in June 2018.
Yahoo Boys: American woman shares experience
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that an American woman recounted how two 'Yahoo Boys' duped her of significant sums in romance scams, despite her ongoing admiration for Nigerian men.
In a viral video, she detailed her encounters, revealing how the scammers manipulated her emotions and finances.
She displayed the young Nigerian's picture and the one he used for his unsuspecting victims.
Source: Legit.ng
