The United States Department of Justice has filed a civil complaint seeking to revoke the American citizenship of Nigerian-born fraud convict Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem over allegations that he obtained his citizenship through fraud and concealment of criminal activities.
The complaint was filed before the US District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, according to a statement released by the department on Monday.
US authorities accused Kazeem of masterminding a large-scale identity theft and tax fraud operation that allegedly defrauded the American government of over $11.6 million.
Convicted on multiple fraud charges
Mr Kazeem was convicted in 2017 on 19 counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit fraud.
He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment but later received a commuted sentence in 2024 from former US President Joe Biden after serving about six years.
The Justice Department said his criminal activities began before and continued after he became a US citizen, making him legally ineligible for naturalisation.
US government reacts
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said the administration remains committed to stripping citizenship from individuals who obtained it illegally.
“The Trump Administration will not permit wrongdoers to retain the US citizenship that they were never entitled to in the first place,” Shumate stated.
“US citizenship is a privilege, and we will continue to ask courts to revoke a status that was obtained through fraud and deceit,” he added.
Alleged fraud scheme
According to court documents, investigations began in 2013 after a victim in Oregon reported fraudulent tax filings made using her family’s personal information.
Search operations conducted across Illinois, Maryland, and Georgia reportedly uncovered evidence linking Kazeem to a major tax fraud syndicate.
Authorities alleged that the network possessed stolen identities belonging to more than 259,000 victims and that Kazeem purchased over 91,000 identities from a Vietnamese hacker.
The Justice Department said the syndicate used the stolen information to file thousands of fake tax returns between 2012 and 2015.
“In total, Kazeem was linked to 10,139 fraudulent federal tax returns attempting to get over $91 million in refunds and successfully receiving over $11.6 million,” the statement noted.
Millions allegedly sent to Nigeria
Investigators also alleged that more than 2,000 wire transfers worth over $2.1 million were sent to Nigeria, with over 700 transfers directly connected to Kazeem.
Authorities claimed proceeds from the scheme were used to fund luxury investments, including a nearly $200,000 house purchase in the United States and an attempted $6 million hotel project in Lagos.
The department further alleged that Kazeem transferred ownership of some US properties to his sister in Nigeria for just $10 shortly before his arrest in 2015.
The case was jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit, and the Department of Homeland Security.
The denaturalisation proceedings are now being handled by the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation.
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