The United States Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit seeking to revoke the citizenship of Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, who was jailed in 2018 for an $11 million tax fraud scheme. Kazeem was convicted on 19 counts including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.
Investigations revealed that between 2012 and 2015, Kazeem and his accomplices used stolen identities to file more than 10,000 fraudulent federal tax returns, attempting to obtain over $91 million in refunds and successfully receiving over $11.6 million. Kazeem purchased more than 91,000 identities from a hacker and directed co-conspirators, including his younger brother, to obtain electronic filing PINs and access IRS transcripts.
The fraud proceeds funded real estate purchases in Maryland, including a nearly $200,000 down payment on a newly constructed home and a $175,000 townhouse. Kazeem also attempted to develop a $6 million hotel in Lagos, Nigeria. In May 2015, he transferred property deeds to his sister in Nigeria for $10 each before his arrest.
Kazeem was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay over $12 million in restitution. His sentence was later commuted, and he was released by former US President Joe Biden. The DOJ claims Kazeem’s fraud, concealment of crimes, and sham marriages disqualified him from lawful naturalisation, forming the basis for the new lawsuit.
The suit comes amid renewed US immigration enforcement under the administration of Donald Trump, targeting criminal migrants for deportation and revocation of citizenship.
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