Allen Levinson, Wire Fraud Conspiracy, Florida 2022

Tampa, Florida – In a significant blow to international cybercrime, Allen Levinson, a Nigerian national, has been sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud conspiracy related to his orchestration of a large-scale international tax fraud scheme.

Levinson, a resident of Nigeria, was arrested on December 2, 2020, while attempting to enter the United Kingdom. He was extradited to the United States and pleaded guilty upon his arrival on February 3, 2022.

According to court documents, Levinson was the leader of a scheme that attempted to defraud the United States government of more than $63 million through the filing of false and fraudulent tax returns in the names of hundreds of identity theft victims.

The scheme operated from summer 2014 through 2019. Out of the $63 million claimed in tax refunds, the IRS paid over $5.5 million, the majority of which went to Levinson.

Levinson recruited coconspirators T’Andre McNeely, Brandon Williams, Michael Carr, and others—through job placement ads and word of mouth—to collect the proceeds of the tax fraud and send it to Levinson.

Levinson used sophisticated cyber means to obtain the personal data used to file the returns. He also hired other foreign nationals—including individuals located in a boiler room in Vietnam—to prepare and file the returns quickly and in large batches.

The returns were filed from real certified accounting firms across the United States, all of whom had been hacked by third parties and often had their information sold on darkweb marketplaces, including a website formerly known as the xDedic Marketplace.

U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell has sentenced Levinson to six years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud conspiracy.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation’s Tampa and Oakland Field Offices, and the FBI Tampa Field Office. Special assistance was provided by the IRS – CI Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles Field Offices, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Tampa Field Office.

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