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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Matthew A. Akande was sentenced to eight years in federal prison after prosecutors said he helped run a five-year scheme that used stolen taxpayer information to file more than 1,000 fraudulent tax returns. A federal judge in Boston also ordered him to pay $1,393,230 in restitution.
What sentence did Matthew Akande receive?
On February 17, 2026, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Akande, 37, to eight years in prison and three years of supervised release. The U.S. Department of Justice said he was also ordered to pay $1,393,230 in restitution. The sentencing took place in Boston; the Justice Department published its account on February 18, 2026. DOJ sentencing release
How did the tax refund scheme work?
Phishing emails targeted tax-preparation firms
According to prosecutors, the scheme ran from about June 2016 through June 2021. Akande and co-conspirators sent messages posing as inquiries from prospective tax-preparation clients to trick five Massachusetts tax-preparation firms into downloading remote-access trojan malware, including Warzone RAT. The intrusions gave the group access to client personally identifiable information and prior-year tax information.
Stolen information was used to file false returns
The group used taxpayers’ information to file returns in their names and seek refunds. The Justice Department reported that more than 1,000 fraudulent returns sought over $8.1 million in refunds, and that more than $1.3 million was obtained. These are case figures reported by DOJ in 2026, not an independent audit or an estimate of tax fraud more broadly.
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Refunds were routed through U.S. accounts
DOJ said refunds were deposited into U.S. bank accounts opened by co-conspirators. They withdrew cash and, at Akande’s direction, transferred part of the proceeds to third parties in Mexico.
How the case reached sentencing
- June 2016–June 2021: DOJ places the scheme in this approximate period.
- July 2022: A federal grand jury indicted Akande on 33 counts.
- October 2024: Akande was arrested at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom at the request of the United States.
- March 5, 2025: He was extradited to the United States. A co-defendant, Kehinde H. Oyetunji, had pleaded guilty to one conspiracy count in December 2022, according to DOJ’s extradition account. DOJ extradition release
- February 17, 2026: Akande was sentenced in Boston.
The indictment listed one conspiracy count, one wire-fraud count, four counts of unauthorized access to protected computers in furtherance of fraud, 13 counts of theft of government money, and 14 aggravated identity-theft counts. The sentence and restitution order are the outcome reported by DOJ; the charge list describes the indictment.
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Where to report suspected tax phishing or a cyberattack
The Justice Department advises businesses that suspect a cyberattack to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Taxpayers and tax-preparation firms can forward suspected phishing emails to [email protected]. The case demonstrates how stolen client data was used in this prosecution; it does not establish that tax-preparation firms generally are vulnerable in the same way.
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