Chukwuemeka Amachukwu, a Nigerian national extradited from France last year on fraud, hacking and identity-theft charges, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison, one year of supervised release and more than US$3.6 million in restitution. US District Judge Paul Gardephe imposed the sentence in the Southern District of New York; US Attorney Jamie McDonald said the schemes "imposed significant harm on the victims and the public". Prosecutors said Amachukwu led a group that used spearphishing emails to breach US tax-preparation businesses from 2019, stealing the information of about 800 business customers and filing fraudulent state and federal returns that sought roughly US$8.4 million, of which about US$2.5 million was paid out. The group also used the stolen data for about US$819,000 in fraudulent Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan claims; separately, Amachukwu made more than US$7 million impersonating wealthy overseas businessmen and offering fake standby letters of credit. Co-conspirator Kingsley Uchelue Utulu was sentenced to five years in June after his arrest in the UK. Why it matters: it shows the long enforcement tail of the phishing-and-refund-fraud economy and that extradition, custodial terms and restitution are now routine.

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