The United States government has filed a civil action to strip Nigerian-born Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem of his citizenship over his alleged role in a large-scale identity theft and tax fraud scheme.
In a complaint filed on Thursday, March 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice said Kazeem orchestrated a network that targeted more than 259,000 individuals and attempted to obtain over $91 million in fraudulent refunds from the Internal Revenue Service.
The case, before a federal court in Baltimore, alleges he secured U.S. citizenship by concealing his criminal activities during the naturalisation process.
Kazeem was convicted in 2017 on 19 counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
He served about six years before his sentence was commuted in December 2024 by then U.S. President Joe Biden.
Prosecutors said the scheme spanned both before and after his naturalization, making him ineligible to retain citizenship.
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He is also accused of obtaining residency through a sham marriage, in breach of immigration rules.
Investigators traced the operation to 2013, when suspicious tax filings were reported.
Authorities later recovered cash, prepaid debit cards and electronic devices linked to the fraud during raids across multiple states.
The DOJ said Kazeem acquired over 91,000 stolen identities from an overseas hacker, using them to file more than 10,000 false tax returns.
While the scheme sought over $91 million, about $11.6 million was successfully obtained, with at least $2.1 million sent to Nigeria.
Prosecutors described him as the mastermind, alleging he used proceeds to acquire luxury properties in Maryland and pursue a $6 million hotel project in Lagos.
The Justice Department said it is seeking to revoke his citizenship, maintaining that status obtained through fraud cannot be retained.