On September 18, 2023, in the Northern District of West Virginia, Ayodele Arasokun was sentenced to 34 years of imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay over $2.2 million in restitution. Arasokun was convicted by a jury in October 2022 of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

From January 2016 through November 2017, Arasokun devised a scheme to unlawfully obtain tax refund money by filing fraudulent Federal income tax returns. Arasokun collected the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers for multiple individuals. Using this information, Arasokun compromised the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Electronic Filing Pin application, an online electronic portal. Arasokun then electronically filed and attempted to file fraudulent Federal income tax returns. These fraudulent Federal income tax returns contained fictitious income amounts, withholdings, and other false information. He then directed tax refunds to be deposited into prepaid debit cards and bank accounts that he monitored. Investigators discovered that Arasokun was tracking approximately 700 U.S.-based accounts containing more than $50 million. Of the $9.1 million claimed by Arasokun in false Federal income tax returns, the IRS ultimately paid out $2.2 million in fraudulently obtained refunds.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: N.D.W. Va., Judgement, filed Sept. 18, 2023; N.D.W. Va., Indict., filed Nov. 21, 2017; and Department of Justice press release dated Sept., 18, 2023.