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A Nigerian citizen, Matthew A. Akande, has been extradited to the United States for his involvement in a cyber intrusion and tax fraud scheme.
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Akande, 36, was arrested in October 2024 at Heathrow Airport in the UK and appeared in federal court in Boston on Wednesday.
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He is accused of conspiring to gain unauthorized access to protected computers, theft of government funds, and money laundering, among other charges.
A Nigerian citizen, Matthew A. Akande, has been extradited to the United States for his involvement in a scheme to infiltrate the computer networks of Massachusetts tax preparation firms and file fraudulent tax returns.
Akande, 36, was arrested in October 2024 at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom at the request of U.S. authorities. He was extradited to the U.S. on March 5, 2025, and appeared in federal court in Boston on Wednesday.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Akande was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2022 on multiple charges, including conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to protected computers to facilitate fraud, theft of government funds, and money laundering.
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The charges also include one count of wire fraud, four counts of unauthorized access to protected computers, 13 counts of government money theft, and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft.
The scheme, which involved Akande and his co-conspirators, including Kehinde H. Oyetunji, a Nigerian national residing in North Dakota, aimed to steal money from the United States government using taxpayers’ personally identifiable information (PII) to file fraudulent tax returns in the taxpayers’ names.
“The charge of conspiracy can result in up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater,” the Justice Department said.
EFCC Arraigns 4 Chinese Nationals for Alleged Cyber-Terrorism, Internet Fraud
The Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned four Chinese nationals at the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged cryptocurrency investment and romance fraud.
The defendants, Xia Guang Can, Li Xu Xin, Zhang Xue Hui, and Lu Yubo, were part of a 792-member syndicate arrested in Lagos by EFCC officers last year.
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