Michael Idowu Olugbade, ID Theft Tax Scam, IN 2023

Stolen identities, forged tax returns, and a nationwide ATM cashout — the federal racket led by Michael Idowu Olugbade, 45, of Brownsburg, Indiana, has ended behind prison bars. Olugbade, along with Alaire Sanya, 49, of Corona, New York, and Olanrewaju Ajetunmobi, 45, of Austell, Georgia, were sentenced this week in Erie, Pennsylvania, for their roles in a sprawling wire fraud conspiracy that weaponized the U.S. tax system.

U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone handed down steep penalties: Olugbade and Sanya each received 30 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Ajetunmobi, an accountant who lent professional precision to the scam, was sentenced to 1 day in jail, followed by 6 months of community confinement, 6 months of home detention, and 3 years of supervised release.

Inside luggage abandoned at a co-defendant’s home, investigators found Olugbade’s operation laid bare — ledgers listing exact tax refund amounts and the bank accounts where they’d be deposited. IRS records confirmed the numbers matched deposits to the penny. Also inside: debit cards tied to fraudulent accounts opened with stolen identities. The money — refunds fraudulently claimed — was pulled from ATMs across the country, laundered through layers of deceit.

Sanya’s home was a warehouse of stolen identities. Hundreds were found, many recycled by multiple conspirators to file fake returns. Alongside them: credit cards opened using those same purloined Social Security numbers. Each file, each card, a piece of a machine built to bleed the Treasury dry.

Ajetunmobi used his accounting know-how to file phony federal tax returns that claimed fake farm income and fuel tax credits — refunds for taxes never paid. The stolen identities came from co-conspirators. The deposits went to accounts opened under false names. The wire transfers moved the cash fast and far.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian A. Trabold. Acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song credited the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation for dismantling the ring. The convictions stand as a warning: fraud may start with a spreadsheet, but it ends in handcuffs.