A Nigerian, Onomen Uduebor, who was sentenced by a United States District Court on Monday to three years and four months in prison for his role in a $140,000 tax refund fraud, said he participated in the scheme because he was desperate to succeed in his music career.

It was gathered information from a statement obtained from the website of the US Department of Justice on Tuesday that Uduebor was extradited from the United Kingdom following his indictment for tax refund fraud.

According to the statement, the 39-year-old convict had, between 2016 and 2017, alongside other conspirators, filed false tax returns by using a fraudulent email to message the Human Resources Department of various US companies to request employee details.

The statement noted that upon getting the employees’ details, “the conspirators then used the information from the W-2s to file more than 300 bogus tax returns claiming more than $1 million in tax refunds. The conspirators targeted companies across the U.S. in this scheme.”

It continued, “Uduebor admits that he filed 150 of the false tax returns and tracked the refunds and payments to bank accounts that the schemers set up in the names of the victims.

“While the IRS paid out about $140,000 to the fraudsters, Uduebor says he received only $10,000 from the scheme. The IRS was able to seize some of the money back from the conspirators, so the total restitution owed to the U.S. Treasury was $122,720.”

The statement noted that Uduebor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for the scheme to steal and use income tax data for fraud during his trial.

It added that following his guilty plea, he was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment by the US District Judge James Robart.

During sentencing, the judge was quoted as saying, “He freely participated in the fraud and had a substantial role in the scheme. Thirty years old is not a young man, and he ought to have known better.

“This defendant participated in a conspiracy that involved tricking companies around the United States, including a Tukwila-based company, into providing W-2 information on their employees.”

The statement also noted that Uduebor, when asked to react to the victim impact statements, noted that an apology was not enough and that he was desperate to succeed in his music career.

“I have read the victim impact statements, and I know an apology is not enough. I was desperate to succeed in my music career. It is not an excuse, but it is the truth,” Uduebor was quoted.

The statement added that the convict may likely be depressed upon the completion of his prison term.

“Uduebor was arrested in the United Kingdom in September 2023. He arrived in the U.S. in March 2025. He pleaded guilty in April 2025. Uduebor will likely be deported to Nigeria following his prison term,” the statement concluded. (The PUNCH)