ATLANTA – Nnamdi Iheanacho has been indicted on federal charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy, and concealment money laundering for stealing COVID-19 relief funds and federal tax refunds based on fraud and identity theft.
“Iheanacho allegedly defrauded government funds during the COVID-19 pandemic involving state unemployment insurance funds and tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “COVID-19 pandemic funds provided vital aid for citizens who qualified for them. Congress did not intend for individuals to illegally profit from the CARES Act program. The indictment alleges that Iheanacho compounded his fraudulent conduct by stealing the identities of others to perpetrate his schemes, including filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.”
“An important part of the mission of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud involving unemployment insurance programs. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate these types of allegations,” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Southeast Region.
“Iheanacho’s alleged criminal acts deprived the government of funding for its programs and possibly created financial instability for his victims of identity theft,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners are diligently working to find those who show so much disregard to others in their pursuit of greed.”
“This defendant is charged with taking advantage of our nation during an unprecedented time of a pandemic and stealing money intended to help others who were struggling,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We are proud to…
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