A Nigerian citizen who lived in Atlanta was arraigned this week on federal charges accusing him of conspiring to steal more than $100 million in tax refunds using stolen identities, after being extradited from the West African nation of Benin. Akinade Adedeji Raheem faces federal fraud, money-laundering and aggravated identity-theft charges tied to a scheme that federal prosecutors say involved hundreds of stolen taxpayer identities and more than 300 fraudulent returns.
Raheem was extradited from Benin to the United States on October 22, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, as reported by CBS News Atlanta. He had been arrested by local authorities in Benin, according to the same federal office. Per the Justice Department, Raheem allegedly conspired to file fraudulent tax returns seeking over $100 million in refunds using stolen identities before being arraigned on the federal counts.
A federal grand jury in Georgia indicted Raheem back in February on one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, 14 counts of access device fraud, and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft, the station's report notes. Law enforcement agencies attempted to arrest Raheem in April but were unable to take him into custody at that time. Officials say he booked a flight from Mexico City to Benin roughly a week after that failed arrest attempt, and he was ultimately arrested in Benin.
How the Alleged Scheme Worked
Investigators allege Raheem worked with a group, including a man named Abayomi Quadri Eletu, that stole hundreds of taxpayers' identities by creating IRS online accounts and requesting victims' private information. The group then filed more than 300 fake tax returns claiming large refunds, according to the same account. Prosecutors say Raheem, Eletu and others directed the IRS to split the refunds onto prepaid debit cards.
According to prosecutors, the group laundered the refunds through prepaid debit cards, money orders and other purchases. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said the group also shipped used cars bought with the fraud proceeds to Nigeria and other locations. Hertzberg described the scope of the alleged fraud as staggering, saying the scheme involved hundreds of stolen identities, fraudulent tax returns, and laundering through prepaid cards and used-car purchases.
Eletu, described as a resident of the United Kingdom and Nigeria, was arrested in the United Kingdom, officials say, and remains in custody there awaiting extradition to the United States. Per the indictment described by the IRS, Raheem and others in the United Kingdom and Nigeria allegedly conspired together and with others to claim fraudulent tax refunds using the stolen identities of accountants and taxpayers. Raheem remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and faces decades in prison if convicted.
Part of a Broader Identity-Theft Surge
The case lands amid what federal data describes as a growing wave of tax-related identity theft nationally. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported receiving more than 1,000 complaints about identity theft connected to tax returns within the prior year, a 26% increase from the year before, according to the FBI. A Treasury inspector general report referenced $7 billion tied to fraudulent tax refunds and revenue protected from identity-theft fraud during 2024 and 2025, per an oversight.gov report.
Georgia has seen other large tax-fraud cases surface recently. Three Mexican nationals living in the Atlanta metro area were separately charged in a $74 million tax-refund scheme, according to the Justice Department. Federal officials have also pointed to a broader national enforcement push, announcing a nationwide series of actions involving more than $490 million in tax fraud, and a Texas man pleaded guilty in September to a conspiracy seeking more than $35 million in fraudulent refunds.
