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A Nigerian national has admitted his role in using stolen personal information from an Oregon firm to file thousands of bogus federal and Oregon state tax returns during a four-year string, netting close to $5 million before the operation was uncovered by revenue agents. Oluwatobi Reuben Dehinbo, 31, of Georgia, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Medford to a 27-count indictment accusing him of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and identity theft as part of a ring that funneled at least some of its stolen money to Nigeria, federal court records state. Dehinbo rejected a federal plea agreement offered in the case and faces up to 20 years in prison and "virtual certainty" that he will be deported, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke said in court Monday. A second defendant, Oluwaseunara Temitope Osayinbi, 36, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea in his case Monday. Other defendants named in the scheme are brothers Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, 33, and Michael Oluwasegun Kazeem, 23, as well as Lateef Aina Animawun, 36, and Oluwamuyiwa Abolad Olawoye, 30. All were living in Georgia when they were arrested in May 2015, court records show. The conspiracy is outlined in various court filings involving the six men, including two separate indictments, which detail how the men parlayed stolen data into $4.7 million in cash from the Internal Revenue Service over four tax years. Prosecutors allege the group obtained personal information from more than 250,000 people, including some Medford residents, from an overseas hacker, according to court documents. At least some of that personal information was hacked from CICS Employment Services, a Lincoln City-based firm that conducts pre-employment background checks, court filings state. The men used that information to get PIN numbers used by the victims to electronically file IRS returns, court filings state. They then obtained prepaid debit cards in the names of each individual or opened bank accounts in the name of a third party, court papers state. They also opened disposable email accounts to file false tax returns using online software such as TurboTax, with the IRS paying refunds directly to the debit cards or bank accounts. Prosecutors allege the men wired at least some of the money to Nigeria via Western Union, but no amount was stated in court records. Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Chatfield said in court Monday that the scheme began in early 2012 and ran until May 2015. The thefts targeted both the IRS and the Oregon Department of Revenue and included Oregon victims, but Chatfield did not say how many. The case was investigated by IRS agents in Medford. The men were arrested in May 2015 in Georgia and later transferred to Oregon for prosecution. Seized as part of the investigation were hundreds of thousands of documents and other electronic data that totaled two terabytes of storage, documents show. All six defendants remain in the Jackson County Jail without bail. Emmanuel Kazeem is awaiting a March jury trial in the case. A Nov. 8 motion in the case filed by Ashland lawyer Terry Kolkey on behalf of his client, Animawun, outlined the government's case and stated the other defendants will be entering guilty pleas. — Reach Mail Tribune reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . null null null null