Eight-Year Sentence for Hacker Who Targeted Tax Preparation Firms and Stole Client Identities

Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, 40, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a hacking, tax fraud and investment scheme that ran from 2019 to 2023, the US Justice Department said. Court records state he hacked into US-based tax preparation businesses, used identities stolen from those organisations to file false tax returns with federal and state authorities, and persuaded victims to send money for investments that did not exist. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud. He was arrested in France in July 2023 and extradited to the United States in August 2025.

The financial damage was large. A federal judge ordered him to pay nearly $3.65 million in restitution and forfeit almost $10.85 million. Prosecutors said he and alleged co-conspirators obtained more than $7 million through fraudulent investment schemes, about $2.5 million through fraudulent tax returns and $819,000 in fraudulent payouts from the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. The group also stole tax and personal data belonging to at least 800 business customers after breaching tax businesses in New York, Texas and elsewhere.

Court records describe how one attack began in May 2021, when conspirators sent a spearphishing email to an employee of a New York tax preparation firm. The email infected the firm's computer systems with malware. The case shows how a single targeted email to one staff member can open the door to client data and large-scale fraud.