Nigerian artist Onomen Uduebor, also known as Onomen Onohi, has been sentenced to three years and four months in a United States federal prison for his involvement in a $140,000 tax fraud scheme.
The 39-year-old musician was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was extradited from the United Kingdom to the US in March 2025 following his arrest in September 2023 and pleaded guilty in April 2025.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Uduebor was part of a scheme that deceived human resources departments of various companies nationwide into releasing W-2 employee tax information. This data was then used to file over 300 fraudulent tax returns seeking refunds totaling more than $1 million.
Court documents showed that Uduebor personally filed 150 of the fake returns and monitored the resulting refunds, which were deposited into accounts opened in the names of identity theft victims. Although the IRS blocked most of the fraudulent claims, approximately $140,000 was disbursed, with Uduebor admitting to receiving $10,000.
U.S. District Judge James L. Robart, who presided over the sentencing in Seattle, described Uduebor’s role as “substantial” and emphasized that he “freely participated in the fraud” despite knowing the risks.
Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman highlighted the widespread damage caused by the fraud, noting the financial harm and emotional distress suffered by companies, employees, and the IRS due to stolen identities and delayed tax refunds.
In addition to his prison sentence, Uduebor was ordered to forfeit the $10,000 he gained from the scheme and pay $122,720 in restitution to the IRS. After serving his sentence, he is expected to be deported back to Nigeria.
