Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Federal Prison and Ordered to Pay Nearly $150,000 in Restitution to IRS on Identity Theft Conviction

DALLAS — A man who admitted committing identity theft was sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Uche Victor Harrison Onyewulotu was sentenced on Monday to 15 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $141,469 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  He pleaded guilty in July 2015 to an indictment charging one count of identity theft – possession in and affecting interstate commerce of means of identification of another with intent to commit a crime.

According to the factual resume and complaint filed in the case, over the course of two years, an individual, identified as Chijioke Augustin Obiora, a Nigerian national, sold undercover agents 13 U.S. Treasury checks, stolen and obtained by fraud, with a total value of $115,702. 

On April 28, 2014, according to the factual resume, Obiora attempted to fly to Lagos, Nigeria, from Dallas-Fort Worth airport, where he was arrested.  Onyewulotu accompanied Obiora at the airport and was detained.

According to the factual resume, Onyewulotu admitted that he had assisted an individual in a scheme to file fraudulent U.S. federal income tax returns to obtain refunds.  When Onyewulotu’s laptop was searched, pursuant to a federal search warrant, according to the factual resume, law enforcement found the means of identification of thousands of individuals, including names, ages, genders, dates of birth, Social Security account numbers, addresses and telephone numbers.

Obiora was prosecuted and convicted in the Eastern District of Texas, and according to the judgment filed in the case, was sentenced in October 2015 to serve 24 months in federal prison.

IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, and  the Texas Department of Public Safety and investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Revesz prosecuted.

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