BALTIMORE — The U.S. Department of Justice is looking to revoke the citizenship of a Nigerian native who was formerly convicted of running a multi-million dollar mail and wire fraud scheme, including stealing identities to file fraudulent tax returns in several states like Maryland.
In 2017 Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, but former President Joe Biden commuted his sentence in 2024 after serving only six-years behind bars.
Federal prosecutors say Kazeem's crimes began well before becoming a U.S. citizen, meaning he did so under false pretenses.
The feds accuse Kazeem of entering a "sham marriage" to gain permanent resident status before moving on and marrying a second woman.
In all the DOJ says 259,000 people were impacted by Kazeem's identity theft scheme. As result, he received $11.6 million in fraudulent funds.
With the stolen tax returns Kazeem bought a $175,000 Maryland town home, while putting down another $200,000 for a new house in the state. Both properties were later transferred to his sister for a combined 20 bucks.
On top of that, Kazeem attempted to develop a $6 million dollar four-star hotel in his native country of Nigeria.
“The Trump Administration will not permit wrongdoers to retain the U.S. citizenship that they were never entitled to in the first place,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “U.S. Citizenship is a privilege, and we will continue to ask courts to revoke a status that was obtained through fraud and deceit.”
