ATLANTA — Akinade Adedeji Raheem, a 43-year-old Nigerian citizen who lived in Atlanta, was arraigned on Monday, October 26 on a federal indictment and detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after his extradition from Benin, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release dated Tuesday, October 27.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice — Northern District of Georgia (Oct. 27, 2026)
A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia indicted Raheem on February 24, 2026 on one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, 14 counts of access device fraud and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft. He faces maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for the fraud conspiracy, 20 years for money laundering and 10 years for access device fraud, plus a mandatory two years for aggravated identity theft, the department said.
Flight to Benin and a rare extradition
In April 2026, federal agents went to arrest Raheem at his home and spoke through a video doorbell to a man who identified himself as Raheem and said he was not home. Less than a week later, agents learned he had booked a flight from Mexico City to Benin. He flew into Benin on April 15, 2026 and was arrested there under an INTERPOL Red Notice. Benin extradited him to the United States last week — the second extradition to the U.S. from Benin in history, according to the Justice Department.
Prosecutors allege that between 2018 and 2023, Raheem and Abayomi Quadri Eletu, who lived in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, conspired with others to claim fraudulent tax refunds using the stolen identities of accountants and American taxpayers, filing more than 300 false returns claiming over $100 million in refunds from the IRS. Eletu was indicted in the Western District of Texas on February 17, 2026, was later arrested in the United Kingdom, and his extradition proceedings are still pending.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice — charges release
The Justice Department says the group allegedly obtained names, addresses and Social Security numbers by creating online IRS accounts and requesting private taxpayer information, filed returns in other people's names, and had the IRS split refunds among prepaid debit cards sent to addresses they controlled. Some funds were allegedly laundered through money orders kept below reporting thresholds and used to buy used cars at auction — some shipped to Nigeria — as well as designer clothing, prosecutors allege. Independent legal-news coverage of the charges, including Lawyard's report on the unsealed indictments, describes the same alleged method and amounts.
Source: Lawyard — U.S. Indicts Nigerian Nationals in $100 Million IRS Tax Fraud Scheme
What readers should know
The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), with help from the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs and the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. The Justice Department stresses that an indictment contains only charges: Raheem and Eletu are presumed innocent unless the government proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. For diaspora families who file U.S. taxes through preparers, the case is a reminder the IRS alleges even accountants' own identities were targeted — checking IRS online-account access and refund status directly is the safest habit.