On February 12, 2018, in the Northern District of Georgia, Anthony Adewale Oloko was sentenced for the theft of public money and aggravated identity theft.1 Codefendant Temilola Brown was sentenced on February 13, 2018, for the theft of public money.2 Oloko and Brown were both indicted in September 2017,3 and Brown pleaded guilty in October 2017.4 Oloko pleaded guilty in November 2017.5
According to the court documents, both of the defendants are citizens of Nigeria. Oloko has legal permanent residency in the United States, while Brown is in the United States on a visitor visa.6 Oloko and Brown, using the identification of others without lawful authority, attempted to steal and convert to their own use, money of the United States in the form of Federal tax refunds, which they were not entitled to receive.7
As indicated in the plea agreements for Oloko and Brown, TIGTA was investigating a group of perpetrators who fraudulently requested tax information through the Federal Student Aid Datashare (FSAD) program using stolen personally identifiable information (PII). The FSAD program allows Federal student aid applicants to import their tax information into the student aid application. By using this program, the perpetrators were able to gain access to tax information and also test the validity of the stolen PII. The perpetrators then used the stolen PII to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and direct the tax refunds into fraudulently opened bank accounts.8
Oloko's role in the offense was to file the fraudulent tax returns using the stolen PII. Between February 2014 and February 2017, he filed 139 fraudulent returns claiming tax refunds totaling $886,895. Of these 139 returns, nine refunds were actually issued for a total of $27,129. Oloko admitted that he filed fraudulent tax returns using victims' PII that was obtained from another individual. He also admitted that he obtained bank account numbers from Brown and another conspirator and used those accounts to direct the fraudulent refunds. Agents identified Internet chat sessions between Oloko and others exchanging Federal tax documents and instructions on obtaining tax information from the FSAD website.9
Brown's role in the scheme was to open a fraudulent bank account at Bank of America using a false name and identification. The investigation revealed that there were attempts to direct five fraudulent refunds totaling $37,320 into this specific account. Only one refund of $9,472 was actually deposited into the account, which Brown and others subsequently withdrew. In February 2017, Oloko attempted to direct $136,741 in refunds from 14 fraudulent tax returns into various bank accounts, including the Bank of America account opened by Brown. When interviewed by TIGTA special agents, Brown admitted to opening the Bank of America account using a false name and a fraudulent passport. She also acknowledged that she was aware Oloko was directing fraudulent tax refunds into this account.10
Oloko was sentenced to 51 months' imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Oloko was further ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $27,129, of which, Brown is jointly and severally liable for $9,472.11 Brown was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, and shall be remanded to Immigration Customs Enforcement for possible deportation proceedings upon her release.12
1 N.D. Ga. Judgment 1:17-CR-330-2-MHC filed Feb. 14, 2018.
2 N.D. Ga. Judgment 1:17-CR-330-1-MHC filed Feb. 14, 2018.
3 N.D. Ga. Indict. filed Sep. 19, 2017.
4 N.D. Ga. Plea Agr. filed Oct. 19, 2017.
5 N.D. Ga. Plea Agr. filed Nov. 1, 2017.
6 N.D. Ga. Order of Detention 1: 17-MJ-536-AJB-2 filed June 30, 2017; N.D. Ga. Order of Detention 1: 17-MJ-536-AJB-1 filed June 30, 2017.
7 N.D. Ga. Indict. filed Sep. 19, 2017.
8 N.D. Ga. Plea Agr. filed Nov. 1, 2017.
9 Id.
10 N.D. Ga. Plea Agr. filed Oct. 19, 2017.
11 N.D. Ga. Judgment 1:17-CR-330-2-MHC filed Feb. 14, 2018.
12 N.D. Ga. Judgment 1:17-CR-330-1-MHC filed Feb. 14, 2018.