Nigerian Man Chukwuemeka Amachukwu Gets 8 Years for Hacking Tax Preparers and Fake Investment Scheme

Published Oct. 20, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

You can do everything right with your own tax information and still have it stolen, if the business that prepares your return is hacked. According to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, that is what happened to customers of several U.S. tax preparation businesses, whose data was used to file fraudulent tax returns. The same defendant, prosecutors said, also ran a separate scheme pitching wealthy-sounding investments that did not exist.

On Oct. 19, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, also known as "Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo" and "So Kwan Leung," 40, of Nigeria, was sentenced to eight years in prison by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe [1].

Status: Amachukwu previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and has been sentenced. He was also sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to pay $3,647,629.39 in restitution and forfeit $10,846,634.39 [1][2].

Scheme 1: Hacking tax preparers

According to the superseding indictments, public court filings and statements in court, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. The phish. Beginning in at least about 2019, Amachukwu, a co-conspirator and other Nigeria-based conspirators used spearphishing emails to get into the electronic systems of U.S.-based tax preparation businesses, in New York, Texas and other states.
2. The data. Once inside, they stole tax and other identifying information for at least about 800 of the businesses' customers. Overall, the conspirators obtained stolen identity information of thousands of people.
3. The refunds. They used the information to file fraudulent tax returns with the IRS and state tax authorities, seeking at least about $8.4 million in refunds and obtaining at least about $2.5 million.
4. The loans. They also used stolen identities to file fraudulent claims with the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, obtaining at least about $819,000 more.

Scheme 2: Investments that didn't exist

Separately, prosecutors said, Amachukwu offered U.S. victims investments in "purportedly valuable standby letters of credit." To fool them, he impersonated a wealthy overseas financier. "In reality, these investments did not exist," the release said, and Amachukwu and his co-conspirators pocketed more than $7 million [1].

The SEC warns that so-called "prime bank" programs, which may be described as "standby letters of credit, bank guarantees, an offshore trading program, a high-yield investment program, or some variation," do not exist: "They are all scams" [3].

The person sentenced

Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, 40, of Nigeria. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to eight years [1].

"Chukwuemeka Amachukwu believed he was operating safely offshore when he targeted his victims, but he has now been held to account and now faces a serious sentence for his crimes," said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald [1].

The release names a co-conspirator in the tax scheme, but its spelling of his first name differs from another published report, so we are not naming him here. The FBI investigated [1][2].

Red flags

For taxpayers:

• The IRS says a return was already filed in your name, or you get a refund or transcript you didn't request.
• IRS letters about income from an employer you don't recognize.
• A notice from your tax preparer about a data breach.

For investors:

• Exotic bank instruments, such as standby letters of credit, bank guarantees or "prime bank" notes, offered as high-yield, low-risk investments.
• A wealthy overseas financier who reaches out to you, often with an invitation-only pitch. The SEC notes such promoters claim opportunities are "by invitation only and limited to select, wealthy customers," and may ask for non-disclosure agreements [3].
• Claims of backing by the World Bank, IMF or Federal Reserve [3].

What to do

1. Consider an IRS Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN). The IRS offers one, along with guides on preventing and reporting tax-related identity theft, through its Identity Theft Central page [4].
2. If you suspect tax identity theft, use the IRS's reporting tools and get a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.
3. Ask your tax preparer how they protect client data, and act quickly on any breach notice.
4. Walk away from any "prime bank" or letter-of-credit investment. Report offers to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr and to the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 20, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 20, 2026	Source
Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu (a/k/a Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo, So Kwan Leung), 40, Nigeria	Federal, S.D.N.Y.	Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud; sentenced to 8 years, 1 year supervised release, $3,647,629.39 restitution, $10,846,634.39 forfeiture (announced Oct. 19, 2026)	[1], [2]

Statuses can change.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, "Nigerian Man Sentenced To Eight Years For Hacking, Fraud, And Identity Theft Schemes," Oct. 19, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/nigerian-man-sentenced-eight-years-hacking-fraud-and-identity-theft-schemes
2. Punch (Nigeria), "US court jails Nigerian eight years, orders $10.8m forfeiture," Oct. 20, 2026. https://punchng.com/us-court-jails-nigerian-eight-years-orders-10-8m-forfeiture/
3. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov, "'Prime Bank' Investments" (accessed Oct. 20, 2026). https://www.investor.gov/protect-your-investments/fraud/types-fraud/prime-bank-investments
4. Internal Revenue Service, "Identity theft central" (accessed Oct. 20, 2026). https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central

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