U.S. Moves To Revoke Citizenship Of Nigerian Over $91M Fraud

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that it has filed a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, seeking to revoke the U.S. citizenship of Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, a Nigerian national accused of masterminding a massive identity theft and tax refund fraud operation.

Kazeem, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen, was convicted in 2017 on 19 counts including mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay over $12 million in restitution. In December 2024, then-President Joe Biden commuted his sentence after he had served six years.

The DOJ alleges that Kazeem’s fraudulent activities, both before and after naturalization, and his concealment of prior crimes, made him ineligible for U.S. citizenship. It also states that Kazeem previously entered a sham marriage to obtain permanent resident status and later married a second woman, further disqualifying him.

“The Trump Administration will not permit wrongdoers to retain the U.S. citizenship that they were never entitled to in the first place,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the DOJ’s Civil Division.

“U.S. Citizenship is a privilege, and we will continue to ask courts to revoke a status that was obtained through fraud and deceit.”

The scheme came to light in May 2013 when a resident in Medford, Oregon, reported fraudulent federal and state tax returns filed using her and her husband’s personal information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

An IRS investigation, supported by multiple agencies, identified Kazeem as the leader. Searches in Illinois, Maryland, and Georgia recovered prepaid debit cards, money orders, cash, and electronic devices linked to the fraud.

Investigators found that Kazeem and his co-conspirators stole personal information from more than 259,000 victims.

Kazeem purchased over 91,000 identities from a Vietnamese hacker who accessed data from an Oregon company’s private database. He divided the identities among accomplices, including his younger brother Michael Oluwasegun Kazeem. Between 2012 and 2015, the group filed thousands of fraudulent tax returns, obtaining over 19,500 electronic filing PINs and accessing IRS transcripts.

Prepaid debit cards tied to victims’ identities were used to collect refunds. Kazeem was linked to 10,139 fraudulent federal tax returns seeking over $91 million, with more than $11.6 million successfully collected. At least 2,000 wire transfers totaling $2.1 million were sent to Nigeria, including more than $690,000 directly linked to Kazeem.

Kazeem used the proceeds for a nearly $200,000 down payment on a new house in Maryland and purchased a $175,000 townhouse. His average monthly credit card payments exceeded $8,300 between 2012 and 2015. He also attempted to invest in a $6 million four-star hotel in Lagos, Nigeria.

In May 2015, shortly before his arrest, he transferred his townhouse to his sister in Nigeria for $10 and added her to the deed of his residence for the same amount.

The criminal case resulted from a joint investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the FBI, with support from agencies including the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Department of State, DHS Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Kazeem’s 2017 conviction was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Byron Chatfield and Gavin Bruce in the District of Oregon. His denaturalization case is now being handled by the Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation.

The DOJ emphasized that the action underscores its commitment to ensuring that U.S. citizenship is not obtained or retained through fraud or deceit. The case highlights ongoing U.S. efforts to address immigration and fraud issues involving individuals with ties to Nigeria, amid broader discussions on diaspora crime and bilateral relations.