Due to his involvement in a $140,000 tax fraud plot, Nigerian artist Onomen Uduebor was sentenced to three years and four months in a federal prison in the United States.
Onomen Onohi, also known as Uduebor, was found guilty of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to conduct wire fraud.
Following his arrest in September 2023, the 39-year-old was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom in March 2025. In April 2025, he entered a guilty plea.
Uduebor took part in a scam that entailed deceiving HR departments of businesses around the United States into disclosing W-2 employee tax information, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.After that, more than 300 false tax returns claiming more than $1 million in refunds were filed using the information.
According to court records, Uduebor personally submitted 150 of the fraudulent forms and monitored the reimbursements, which were deposited into accounts that the victims of identity theft had formed.
Uduebor said that he personally collected $10,000 of the $140,000 that was disbursed, despite the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intercepting the majority of the bogus claims.
Uduebor had a "substantial role" in the conspiracy, according to U.S. District Judge James L. Robart, who sentenced him in Seattle.
Uduebor "freely participated in the fraud," according to the judge, and ought to have known better.
The victims experienced emotional distress and financial upheaval as a result of delayed tax refunds and identity theft.
Uduebor has been sentenced to pay $122,720 in restitution to the IRS and lose the $10,000 he made from the fraud.
After completing his prison sentence, he is anticipated to be repatriated to Nigeria.