A Nigerian musician, Onomen Uduebor, has been sentenced to three years and four months in a U.S. federal prison for his involvement in a $140,000 tax fraud scheme.
Also known as Onomen Onohi, the 39-year-old was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was extradited from the UK to the U.S. in March 2025 following his arrest in September 2023 and pleaded guilty in April 2025.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Uduebor was part of a fraud operation that targeted HR departments across the U.S., tricking them into releasing W-2 tax forms. The stolen data was then used to file over 300 fake tax returns, seeking more than $1 million in refunds.
Court documents showed that Uduebor personally submitted 150 of those returns and monitored the refunds, which were deposited into accounts created under stolen identities. While the IRS blocked most of the fraudulent claims, around $140,000 was paid out—$10,000 of which Uduebor admitted to receiving himself.
U.S. District Judge James L. Robart, who handed down the sentence in Seattle, said Uduebor played a “substantial role” in the crime and “freely participated in the fraud,” despite knowing better.
Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman said the scheme caused serious harm to companies, employees, and the IRS, adding that victims faced both financial setbacks and emotional stress due to identity theft and delayed refunds.
Uduebor has been ordered to forfeit the $10,000 he gained and repay $122,720 to the IRS in restitution. He will be deported to Nigeria after serving his sentence.
