{"id":51546,"date":"2022-12-05T19:37:04","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T03:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51546"},"modified":"2022-12-05T19:38:01","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T03:38:01","slug":"nigerian-sentenced-to-more-than-six-years-in-prison-for-international-tax-fraud-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51546","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for International Tax Fraud Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tampa, Florida <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell sentenced Allen Levinson, formerly known as Allen Ameh, to six years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud conspiracy related to his orchestration of a large-scale international tax fraud scheme, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Levinson, a resident of Nigeria, was arrested on December 2, 2020, while attempting to enter the United Kingdom. <\/span><\/p>\n

He was extradited to the United States and pleaded guilty upon his arrival on Feb. 3, 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
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According to court documents, Levinson was the leader of a scheme that attempted to defraud the United States government of more than $63 million by filing fraudulent tax returns in the names of hundreds of identity theft victims. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"FBI<\/p>\n

The scheme operated from the summer of 2014 through 2019. Out of the $63 million claimed in tax refunds, the IRS paid over $5.5 million, most of which went to Levinson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Levinson recruited coconspirators T\u2019Andre McNeely, Brandon Williams, Michael Carr, and others\u2014through job placement ads and word of mouth\u2014to collect the proceeds of the tax fraud and send it to Levinson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Levinson used sophisticated cyber means to obtain the personal data used to file the returns. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"He also hired other foreign nationals\u2014including individuals in a boiler room in Vietnam\u2014to prepare and file the returns quickly and in large batches. <\/span><\/p>\n

The returns were filed from real certified accounting firms across the United States, all of whom had been hacked by third parties and often had their information sold on dark web marketplaces, including a website formerly known as the xDedic Marketplace. <\/span><\/p>\n

The xDedic Marketplace was a website that operated for years and was used to sell access to compromised computers worldwide and personally identifiable information of U.S. residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle previously sentenced three of Levinson\u2019s money laundering affiliates in a related indictment. <\/span><\/p>\n

McNeely and Carr were each sentenced to six years and six months\u2019 imprisonment. Williams was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long, Levinson, and cyber criminals like him worldwide believed using darknet marketplaces and cryptocurrencies give them anonymity from law enforcement.\u00a0Today\u2019s significant sentencing makes it clear that IRS-CI special agents and our partners have the sophisticated tools to remove the so-called cloak of anonymity to bring these fraudsters to justice,\u201d said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Ronald A. Loecker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe FBI and its law enforcement partners will never cease in their efforts to protect the American people by exposing cyber schemes and bringing the fraudsters, no matter where they try and hide, to justice,\u201d said FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge David Walker.<\/span><\/p>\n

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service \u2013 Criminal Investigation\u2019s Tampa and Oakland Field Offices, and the FBI Tampa Field Office. <\/span><\/p>\n

It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Jones.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tampa, Florida U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell sentenced Allen Levinson, formerly known as Allen Ameh, to six years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud conspiracy related to his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1725,1625],"class_list":["post-51546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-irs","tag-taxes"],"yoast_head":"\nNigerian Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for International Tax Fraud Scheme<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tampa, Florida U.S. District Judge Charlene E. 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