The United States Department of Justice has detailed how a Nigerian, Matthew Akande, attempted to defraud more than 1,000 Americans of $8.1m through a fraudulent tax return scheme. According to the statement, Akande, 37, was based in Mexico prior to his arrest at Heathrow Airport in October 2024. “Akande used the RAT malware to obtain the PII and prior-year tax information of the firms’ clients, which he then used to file fraudulent tax returns seeking refunds. “In total, Akande and his co-conspirators filed more than 1,000 fraudulent tax returns seeking over $8.1m in fraudulent tax refunds over approximately five years. He was later extradited to the United States and arraigned before a federal court in Boston.

Source: Punch February 20, 2026 10:31 UTC