A Nigerian man who overstayed his U.S. visa has been arrested in connection with a phishing scam and charged with fraud and identity theft.
Police in North Carolina arrested Daniel Adekunle Ojo for his role in a cyber crime that sought the tax information of 1,600 school district workers in Glastonbury, Connecticut.
Prosecutors said Ojo sent a bogus email to a school district employee, which appeared to be sent from another Glastonbury employee requesting the W-2 tax information of all employees. That employee then forwarded the information, which was used to file 122 false tax returns.
Officials said the Internal Revenue Service processed several of the fake returns and deposited nearly $37,000 in various bank accounts.
Prosecutors said they believe Ojo was also involved in similar email phishing schemes targeting school districts in Groton, Connecticut, and Bloomington, Minnesota.
A judge ordered Ojo to be detained and transferred from his home in North Carolina to Connecticut.
Officials said Ojo entered the United States in May 2016 on a visitor’s visa and failed to leave the country the following month as required.
