A Nigerian man, Atuchukwu Markrufus Onyeanusi, has been sentenced in the United States after being convicted of fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents linked to the use of a false identity to obtain employment.
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler handed down the sentence on May 20, 2026.
Onyeanusi, 32, was sentenced to time served—just under six months in custody—followed by one year of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
He had earlier been indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2025 on charges of Fraud and Misuse of Visas, Permits, and Other Documents, False, Fictitious, Fraudulent Document or Writing, and Aggravated Identity Theft. He pleaded guilty on February 27, 2026.
According to court documents, Onyeanusi is a lawful permanent resident of the United States. On November 10, 2025, law enforcement officers in Oklahoma stopped a vehicle he was driving for speeding, during which they discovered multiple fraudulent documents.
He was found in possession of a Texas commercial driver’s licence bearing his photograph but another person’s name. He also carried an employer identification card for Great Plains Tribal Leaders’ Health Board in Rapid City, South Dakota, which used the same false identity and listed his job title as a “Cyber Threat Analyst.”
Investigators said Onyeanusi used the fake Texas CDL and a fraudulent Social Security card under the same false identity to secure employment at the organisation. He also falsely claimed on an employment immigration form that he was a United States citizen.
Authorities said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a federal initiative targeting illegal immigration-related crime and transnational criminal networks.
The investigation was carried out by Homeland Security Investigations and the Craig County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.
The post Nigerian man jailed in US after using false ID to secure job appeared first on Vanguard News.
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