A 39-year-old Nigerian man, Onomen Uduebor , also known as Onomen Onohi , has been sentenced to 40 months in a U.S. federal prison for his ...
A 39-year-old Nigerian man, Onomen Uduebor, also known as Onomen Onohi, has been sentenced to 40 months in a U.S. federal prison for his role in a large-scale tax fraud scheme targeting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The U.S. Department of Justice, in a statement released on Tuesday, said Uduebor was part of a criminal conspiracy that filed over 300 false tax returns between February 2016 and April 2017, seeking more than $1 million in fraudulent refunds.
“Uduebor admits that he filed 150 of the false tax returns and tracked the refunds and payments to bank accounts that the schemers set up in the names of the victims,” the DOJ stated.
According to U.S. prosecutors, the scheme involved sending fake emails posing as company executives to trick HR departments into releasing employees’ W-2 tax documents. The stolen data was then used to file fraudulent tax returns.
While the IRS blocked most of the claims, about $140,000 in refunds was paid out. Uduebor admitted to receiving $10,000 from the fraud. He has now been ordered to forfeit that amount and pay $122,720 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury.
Speaking during sentencing, Uduebor told the court he was driven by desperation linked to his failed music career.
“I have read the victim impact statements, and I know an apology is not enough. I was desperate to succeed in my music career. It is not an excuse, but it is the truth,” Uduebor said.
U.S. District Judge James L. Robart, while delivering the judgment, described Uduebor’s role in the scheme as significant.
“He freely participated in the fraud and had a substantial role in the scheme. Thirty years old is not a young man, and he ought to have known better,” Judge Robart said.
The DOJ noted that Uduebor was arrested in the United Kingdom in September 2023 and extradited to the U.S. in March 2025. He pleaded guilty in April 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
“Uduebor will likely be deported to Nigeria following his prison term,” the DOJ added.
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