Three men have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a sophisticated tax refund fraud scheme that involved stealing identities and filing fraudulent tax returns totaling nearly $5 million, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
Imafedia Adevokhai, 47, of Alpharetta, Georgia, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison on April 2, 2025, after pleading guilty to money laundering on February 15, 2023. He was also ordered to pay $90,380.60 in restitution and forfeit $3500.
Michael Martin, 52, of Texarkana, Texas, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on November 21, 2023, after pleading guilty to conspiracy on February 14, 2023. He was ordered to pay $90,380.60 in restitution and forfeit $121,623.41.
Osazuwa Peter Okunoghae, 46, of Houston, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison on January 13, 2022, after pleading guilty to money laundering conspiracy on November 12, 2019. He was ordered to pay $451,117.63 in restitution and forfeit the same amount.
“The Eastern District of Texas is committed to prosecuting individuals who participate in schemes to steal personal information, prepare and file fraudulent tax returns, and launder the proceeds,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. “Crimes like these affect all of us, the individual victims whose identities are stolen and used to file fraudulent tax returns, the taxpayers, who are left with the bill, and our financial institutions, which are manipulated and misused to launder the proceeds.”
Christopher J. Altemus Jr., special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, stated, “Adevokhai, Martin, and Okunoghae, along with others, created a complex scheme to steal the tax refunds of law-abiding U.S. taxpayers through stolen identity refund fraud. The women and men of IRS-CI did an outstanding job of uncovering this fraudulent activity and bringing the individuals to justice. Their sentences should be a warning to anyone who would try to defraud the U.S. Government or prey on law-abiding taxpayers.”
According to court documents, the three men, along with others, engaged in a multi-year stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) conspiracy. They stole victims' personal identifying information and used it to file fraudulent tax returns. The total amount claimed through these fraudulent returns was $4,945,886, resulting in a loss of at least $390,220.40 to the U.S. Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service. Adevokhai was involved in preparing and filing many of the fraudulent returns, while Okunoghae and Martin participated in laundering the stolen funds through U.S. financial accounts to foreign accounts. The investigation linked the three men to numerous victims whose identities were compromised.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld and Sean Taylor. The Department of Justice Tax Division considers prosecuting stolen identity refund fraud a top priority due to its disruptive impact on the tax system and the significant financial losses to the U.S. Treasury.
