A 47-year-old Nigerian man, Imafedia Adevokhai, has been sentenced to 46 months in a U.S. federal prison for his role in a multi-year tax fraud scheme involving stolen identities and fraudulent returns totaling nearly $5 million.
The conviction was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, Abe McGlothin Jr., in a statement made available to PUNCH Metro on Sunday.
Court documents revealed that Adevokhai collaborated with two other Nigerian nationals based in the United States, Michael Martin and Osazuwa Okunoghae, to steal the personal information of American citizens. The stolen identities were used to file thousands of fake tax returns, with refund claims amounting to $4,945,886. The U.S. Treasury and the IRS incurred actual losses of over $390,000.
Adevokhai was primarily responsible for generating and submitting the fraudulent tax filings, while Martin and Okunoghae were tasked with laundering the illegal proceeds.
“Through coordinated efforts, the group funneled the funds through U.S. banks and eventually moved them into foreign accounts,” the statement said.
Adevokhai, a resident of Alpharetta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to money laundering on February 15, 2023, and was sentenced on April 2, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III.
His accomplices had earlier been convicted and sentenced. Martin, 52, of Texarkana, Texas, was handed an 18-month sentence in November 2023 after pleading guilty to conspiracy. He was also ordered to repay $90,380.60 and forfeit $121,623.41.
Okunoghae, 46, from Houston, was sentenced in January 2022 to 78 months in prison after admitting guilt in a money laundering conspiracy. He was ordered to pay $451,117.63 in restitution and forfeit the same amount.
Commenting on the case, McGlothin reaffirmed the U.S. government’s resolve to tackle financial crimes, particularly those involving identity theft and tax fraud.
“Such crimes harm not just the individual victims but all taxpayers and financial institutions. We will continue to pursue those who abuse our financial systems for personal gain,” he stated.
