Houston Couple Doled Out Identity Fraud Sentence

HOUSTON – A 32-year-old legal permanent resident from Nigeria and his 31-year-old Houston girlfriend have been locked away for their involvement in a massive stolen identity tax fraud scheme, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.

In December 2016, Tom Emasealu and Krystal Prophet pleaded guilty after facing four days of trial and hearing the testimony of 21 witnesses. Emasealu, aged 32, admitted to all charges in the indictment – conspiracy, possession of at least 15 unauthorized access devices, access device fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. His girlfriend, 31-year-old Krystal Prophet, also confessed to her part in the conspiracy, as well as to access device fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Today, U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore sentenced Emasealu to a total of 87 months for conspiracy, fraud, and possession of access devices. An additional mandatory 24-month sentence followed for the identity theft charge, resulting in an 111-month term. Prophet was handed a 30-month prison term with another 24 months tacked on for a combined 54-month sentence. Following her release from prison, Prophet will be required to serve three years of supervised release. Emasealu is expected to face deportation proceedings upon his release.

In total, both defendants were ordered to pay $37,100.29 in restitution to the victims and an additional $113,526 to $273,181.29 to the IRS.

During sentencing, Judge Gilmore addressed Emasealu directly, noting, “You totally messed up [the victims’] lives by stealing their identities.”

The conspiracy began in January 2014 and lasted until May 2015. The duo conspired to obtain the identities of around 50,000 individuals across the nation, using them to apply for debit and credit cards with various banking institutions. They applied for approximately 230 debit cards using these stolen identities and then used the cards to apply for fraudulent tax refunds. Although the IRS was able to stop most transactions, Emasealu and Prophet still managed to siphon off around $250,000 over a four-month period.

The investigation into this scheme was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Secret Service, and IRS – Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Searle and Douglas Davis handled the prosecution of the case.