An Atlanta man and a man from the United Kingdom and Nigeria have been charged with filing more than 300 fake tax returns that sought over $100 million in fraudulent refunds from the IRS.
What’s Happening: 43-year-old Akinade Adedeji Raheem of Atlanta and 42-year-old Abayomi Quadri Eletu, who lived in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, face charges including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg of the Northern District of Georgia announced the charges.
How the scheme worked: Between 2018 and 2023, the two men and others allegedly stole the names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of taxpayers and tax professionals by creating accounts on the IRS website and requesting private taxpayer data.
They then changed victims’ addresses on IRS records and submitted change-of-address requests to the U.S. Postal Service so that IRS mail would be rerouted to addresses they controlled. When the IRS sent identity verification letters before releasing some refunds, the defendants allegedly posed as the real taxpayers and approved the payments. Refunds were directed to prepaid debit cards.
How they hid the money: Once refunds landed on the prepaid cards, the defendants allegedly bought money orders from post offices and local stores in amounts small enough to stay below federal reporting thresholds — a practice known as structuring. They used those money orders to buy used cars from auction sites, some of which were shipped to Nigeria, along with designer clothing and other goods.
The charges: Eletu faces one count each of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, plus five counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, seven counts of access device fraud — meaning fraudulent use of debit or credit card numbers — and 21 counts of aggravated identity theft. Raheem faces the same two conspiracy counts, plus 14 counts of access device fraud and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft.
By the numbers: The fraud conspiracy and money laundering charges each carry a maximum of 20 years in prison. Access device fraud carries up to 10 years. A conviction on aggravated identity theft adds a mandatory two-year sentence on top of any other prison time.
What’s important: Both men are presumed innocent. An indictment is a formal accusation, not a finding of guilt. Guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court. The cases are being prosecuted in the Northern District of Georgia and the Western District of Texas.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
