- Sodipo was deported from the US in 1995
but returned to the country four years later
to commit fraud
- He claimed to be a US citizen and voted in
at least two general elections in the US
- Williams stole data from schools and other
data storage and used the information to
illegally enrich himself
Kunle Sodipo Williams, a Nigerian man living
in the United States has pleaded guilty to
several cases of fraud in that country.
According to a report by Vanguard, Williams
faces 20 years in jail for mail fraud,
aggravated identity theft, voter fraud and
illegally re-entering the US after being
initially deported.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice
Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S.
Attorney Carrie Costantin for the Eastern
District of Missouri said Sodipo pleaded
guilty in a Federal court in Alabama.
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Kunle Sodipo Williams stole data and used
them to illegally enrich himself. Source:
Vanguard
According to documents filed with the
court, Sodipo in conjunction with some
other people stole public school employees’
IDs from a payroll company and used them
to electronically file more than 2,000
fraudulent federal income tax returns
seeking more than $12 million in refunds.
He also stole several return preparer’s
Electronic Filing Identification Numbers
(EFINs) which he used to get tax-related
bank products and services.
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Williams used the blank stock to print
checks funded by the fraudulent refunds
and directed some of the refunds onto
debit cards.
Williams previously entered the United
States from Nigeria under the name Kunlay
Sodipo, but was deported in 1995. In 1999,
Williams illegally returned to the United
States from Nigeria using the last name
Williams. In 2012, Williams registered to
vote in federal, state and local elections by
falsely claiming that he was a U.S. citizen
and voted in the 2012 and 2016
presidential elections.
Williams will be sentenced on October 13 by
Chief U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel
and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years
in prison for mail fraud, 10 years in prison
for illegal reentry, five years in prison for
each voter fraud count and a mandatory
minimum sentence of two years in prison
for aggravated identity theft. https://www.naij.com/1115131-nigerian-man-defrauds-us-12m-faces-20-years-jail.html