Nigerian musician 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.
Uduebor, 39, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was extradited from the United Kingdom to the U.S. in March 2025, following his arrest in September 2023. He later pleaded guilty in April 2025.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Uduebor was part of a criminal operation that targeted Human Resources departments across the U.S., tricking them into releasing W-2 tax forms containing sensitive employee information. These details were then used to file over 300 fraudulent tax returns, seeking refunds totaling more than $1 million.
Court records revealed that Uduebor personally submitted around 150 of these fake returns and tracked the resulting tax refunds. The illicit funds were funneled into accounts opened using the identities of the fraud victims. Although the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intercepted the majority of the claims, approximately $140,000 was successfully disbursed. Uduebor admitted to personally receiving $10,000.
During sentencing in Seattle, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart emphasized Uduebor’s “substantial role” in the scheme, stating that he “freely participated in the fraud” and “should have known better.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman described the fraud as deeply damaging, highlighting the financial and emotional toll it took on affected companies, employees, and the IRS.
In addition to his prison term, Uduebor has been ordered to forfeit the $10,000 he profited from the scheme and pay $122,720 in restitution to the IRS. He is expected to be deported to Nigeria upon completing his sentence.
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