Nigerian Musician Sentenced to Over Three Years in U.S. Prison for Tax Fraud Scheme
A Nigerian musician, Onomen Uduebor, has been sentenced to three years and four months in a United States federal prison after pleading guilty to his involvement in a large-scale tax fraud scheme that cost the U.S. government approximately $140,000.
Also known by the alias Onomen Onohi, the 39-year-old was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was extradited from the United Kingdom in March 2025, following his arrest in September 2023, and later pleaded guilty in April.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Uduebor was part of a criminal operation that targeted Human Resources departments of various U.S. companies, using phishing emails to obtain sensitive employee tax information, including W-2 forms. The stolen data was then used to file more than 300 fraudulent tax returns, seeking over $1 million in refunds.
Court documents reveal that Uduebor personally submitted at least 150 false tax filings, monitored refund payouts, and directed funds into accounts opened using the identities of unsuspecting victims. While the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was able to block most of the fraudulent claims, around $140,000 was disbursed – $10,000 of which Uduebor admitted to receiving directly.
During sentencing in Seattle, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart noted that Uduebor played a “substantial role” in the operation and had ample opportunity to reconsider his actions. “He freely participated in the fraud,” Judge Robart said, highlighting the intentional nature of his involvement.
Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman condemned the scheme for inflicting not only financial losses on the IRS, but also emotional and logistical distress on victims whose identities were stolen. Many suffered delayed refunds and complications due to the misuse of their personal information.
In addition to his prison sentence, Uduebor has been ordered to forfeit the $10,000 he received and pay $122,720 in restitution to the IRS. He is expected to be deported to Nigeria upon completing his sentence.
