U.S. Moves to Strip Nigerian of American Citizenship After $11.6m Fraud Conviction
- US Justice Department seeks to revoke citizenship of Emmanuel Kazeem over $11.6 million fraud conviction
- Kazeem accused of masterminding identity theft and tax fraud scheme affecting US authorities
- Former President Joe Biden commuted Kazeem's sentence after he served six years for multiple fraud charges
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
The United States Department of Justice has taken steps to revoke citizenship of Nigerian-born man, Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, who was convicted in $11.6m fraud case.
Kazeem was convicted of masterminding a large-scale identity theft and tax fraud scheme that allegedly defrauded US authorities of millions of dollars.
The US justice department filed a civil complaint before the US District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, seeking to revoke Kazeem’s American citizenship.
The US government accused Kazeem of unlawfully obtaining American citizenship through fraud and concealment of criminal conduct.
This was contained in a statement published on its website on Monday, May 18, 2026.
“The denaturalization complaint alleges that Kazeem committed his fraud scheme before and after becoming a U.S. citizen and concealed his crimes, making his naturalization unlawful. It also claims that, before his fraud scheme, Kazeem entered a sham marriage to get permanent resident status and later married another woman, which further disqualifies him from citizenship.”
According to the statement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services helped investigate Kazeem.
The US department said in 2017, Kazeem was convicted on 19 counts—including mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy and later sentenced to 15 years in prison.
President Biden commuted his sentence in 2024 after he had served only six years.
It was gathered that Kazeem trained and directed his co-conspirators in carrying out the scheme.
He directed his co-conspirators to use stolen PII to obtain thousands of electronic filing PINs to bypass IRS authentication procedures.
The convict was linked to a total number of 10,139 fraudulent federal tax returns.
Kazeem attempted to get over $91 million in refunds and successfully receiving over $11.6 million.
US finds Nigerians guilty in $215m scam
Recall that U.S. federal jury convicted three individuals for their roles in a global email fraud scheme that defrauded over 1,000 victims of about $215 million.
Investigators uncovered a method where hackers infiltrated email accounts, studied communication patterns, and sent convincing payment requests.
Authorities seized cash, cryptocurrency, luxury items, and property linked to the operation, while 25 defendants in total had been convicted.
Read more similar stories on convicted Nigerians:
- Nigerian in US Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison for $6 Million Inheritance Scam, Name Released
- US to Deport 97 Nigerians, Releases List With Full Names in Expanded Crackdown
- Nigerian Man Convicted in $4m Business Email Compromise Scam Faces Deportation After Jail Term
US court sends Nigerian fraudster to prison
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that a Nigerian national sentenced to 90 months in prison for his role in a wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy tied to hacked business email systems.
The suspect was extradited from South Africa and ordered to forfeit 1.2 million dollars while paying 2.4 million dollars in restitution to victims.
Investigators in the United States and South Africa worked jointly to conclude the cross-border cybercrime case.
Source: Legit.ng
