The Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit to revoke the U.S. citizenship of a Nigerian native who orchestrated a multimillion-dollar identity theft and tax fraud scheme, federal officials announced Monday.
The complaint against Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, 15, alleges that he obtained his naturalization unlawfully by concealing a massive criminal conspiracy that spanned several years and victimized hundreds of thousands of people.
Kazeem was convicted in 2017 on 19 counts, including mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy. Though originally sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, his sentence was commuted by President Biden in late 2024. Kazeem was among nearly 1,500 individuals whose sentences were commuted after being placed under house arrest during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal prosecutors now allege that Kazeem was ineligible for citizenship not only because of the fraud, but because he entered into a sham marriage to obtain permanent resident status.
According to court documents, the investigation began in 2013 when a victim in Medford, Oregon, alerted the IRS to a fraudulent tax return filed in her name. The subsequent probe by the FBI, IRS, and other agencies revealed a sophisticated operation led by Kazeem.
Investigators say Kazeem purchased more than 91,000 identities from a Vietnamese hacker who had breached the database of an Oregon-based company that performed background checks. In total, the conspiracy involved the stolen personal information of more than 259,000 victims.
Kazeem and his co-conspirators used the stolen data to bypass IRS authentication procedures, acquiring more than 19,500 electronic filing PINs. The group filed over 10,000 fraudulent federal tax returns, attempting to claim more than $91 million in refunds.
While the IRS blocked the majority of the claims, the group successfully obtained $11.6 million. Prosecutors said the funds were loaded onto prepaid debit cards and that more than $2.1 million was wired to Nigeria.
“USCIS assisted with the investigation and is supporting the denaturalization case,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a statement Monday.
If the court grants the request for denaturalization, Kazeem’s citizenship will be revoked, potentially stripping him of legal status in the United States and making him eligible for deportation.
Kishor Panthi
View More PostsKishor Panthi is the founder and editor-in-chief of Khasokhas and NepYork. He is the author of three books, “Kampan,” "UNTRANSLATABLE" and “Zero Mile.” He writes about social issues, immigration, and politics.
