A Nigerian citizen residing in Mexico 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.
Matthew A. 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.
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.
His co-conspirator, Kehinde H. Oyetunji, 33, a Nigerian national residing in North Dakota, pleaded guilty in December 2022 to conspiracy charges related to computer fraud, government money theft, and money laundering. A sentencing date for Oyetunji has not yet been set.
Between in or about June 2016 and June 2021, Akande, Oyetunji and others are alleged to have worked together to steal money from the United States government using taxpayers’ personally identifiable information (PII) to file fraudulent tax returns in the taxpayers’ names.
In addition, between in or about February 2020, the scheme involved stealing taxpayers’ PII from Massachusetts tax preparation firms via phishing attacks and computer intrusions.
To carry out the scheme, Akande is alleged to have caused fraudulent phishing emails to be sent to five Massachusetts tax preparation firms.
The emails purported to be from a prospective client seeking the tax preparation firms’ services but in truth were used to trick the firms into downloading remote access trojan malicious software (RAT malware), including malware known as Warzone RAT.
Akande allegedly used the RAT malware to obtain the PII and prior year tax information of the tax preparation firms’ clients, which Akande then used to cause fraudulent tax returns to be filed seeking refunds.
The tax returns directed that the fraudulent tax refunds be deposited in bank accounts allegedly opened by Oyetunji and others.
Once the refunds were issued, Oyetunji and others withdrew the stolen money in cash in the United States and then transferred a portion to third parties in Mexico, allegedly at Akande’s direction, while keeping a portion for themselves.
In total, Akande and his coconspirators are alleged to have filed more than 1,000 fraudulent tax returns seeking over $8.1 million in fraudulent tax refunds over approximately five years. They are alleged to have successfully obtained over $1.3 million in fraudulent tax refunds.
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 charge of wire fraud can lead to a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
Unauthorized access to protected computers in furtherance of fraud can carry a sentence of 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 charge of theft of government money can lead to a sentence of up to 10 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 charge of aggravated identity theft mandates a sentence of two years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed, along with one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs coordinated with authorities in the United Kingdom to secure the extradition of Akande. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.