A Nigerian national was arrested in France and extradited to the U.S. on charges that he earned millions from a multinational scheme to hack into tax businesses and use stolen information to file tax returns, obtain loans and defraud investors.

Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, 39, was extradited from France on Monday and appeared in a New York District Court on Tuesday — where he is now facing hacking, wire fraud and identity theft charges that will lead to decades-long sentences if he is convicted. 

Prosecutors said that starting in 2019, Amachukwu and multiple co-conspirators based in Nigeria hacked into U.S. tax preparation businesses in New York, Texas and other states using phishing emails. 

One incident took place in May 2021, when the men sent a phishing email to an employee of a Manhattan-based tax preparation business, infecting the company with malware. 

Once inside, the men allegedly stole the tax information of the business’ customers and used it to take a number of fraudulent actions. 

“Amachukwu allegedly operated multiple illicit fraud schemes – identity theft, computer intrusions via spearphishing, and false investments – profiting at the costs of others,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia.  

Court documents say the group stole the identifying information of thousands of people and used it to file fake tax returns at the state and federal level. The group sought refunds of about $8.4 million and were successful in obtaining about $2.5 million.  

The group also used stolen identities to allegedly file fake claims with the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and successfully got $819,000 in fraudulent payouts.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Amachukwu attempted to defraud the IRS and other government bodies while also taking part in a separate scheme to scam people out of investments into businesses that did not exist. Amachukwu allegedly earned millions from the investment scams.

The computer intrusion charge carries a maximum sentence of five years while the two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud have maximum sentences of 20 years in prison. Two other wire fraud charges also carry 20-year maximum sentences and an additional aggravated identity theft charge has a mandatory sentence of two years in prison. 

The court documents name another man, Kingsley Uchelue Utulu, but it is unclear where he is located or if he is in custody. 

U.S. officials have stepped up their prosecutions of cybercriminals filing fraudulent taxes or using stolen identities to obtain government funds since the COVID-19 pandemic saw billions stolen through the practice. 

A Russian national was sentenced to 60 months in prison in 2021 for attempting to steal $1.5 million in tax refunds through a similar scheme of hacking into tax preparation firms. 

Cybersecurity firms have warned of cybercriminal operations dedicated specifically to targeting tax preparation businesses. The IRS identified $5.7 billion in tax fraud schemes in 2022.