Nigerian musician jailed in U.S. for $140,000 tax fraud

Nigerian musician Mr Onomen Uduebor, also known as Onomen Onohi, has been sentenced to three years and four months in a United States federal prison for his role in a tax fraud scheme that defrauded the U.S. government of approximately $140,000.

The 39-year-old was extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States in March 2025 and pleaded guilty in April to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Uduebor and his co-conspirators targeted the Human Resources departments of U.S.-based companies to illegally obtain employees’ W-2 tax forms. The stolen data was then used to file over 300 fraudulent tax returns, seeking refunds totalling more than $1 million.

While most of the false claims were blocked by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), around $140,000 was successfully paid out. Uduebor admitted to personally receiving $10,000 from the fraudulent proceeds.

Court records showed that Uduebor was directly responsible for submitting at least 150 of the fake returns, using stolen personal information belonging to unsuspecting victims.

During sentencing at a U.S. District Court in Seattle, Judge James L. Robart described Uduebor’s involvement as “substantial,” stating that he “freely participated in the fraud and should have known better.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman said the scheme inflicted significant damage on individuals, businesses, and government agencies, noting that victims suffered emotional distress due to identity theft and delays in receiving their legitimate tax refunds.

In addition to the prison term, Uduebor was ordered to forfeit the $10,000 he gained and to repay $122,720 to the IRS as restitution.

He is expected to be deported to Nigeria following the completion of his sentence.