A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Festus Anyiam, 41, of Norcross, Georgia, on four counts of theft of government funds and one count of money laundering [1]. The case proceeded to a one-week jury trial before Judge Mark H. Cohen in Atlanta [1].
The government presented evidence that Anyiam used stolen identities to file fraudulent federal tax returns and collect the resulting refunds [1]. He then laundered more than $400,000 in proceeds by converting the stolen refund payments into money orders [1]. Prosecutors Sekret T. Sneed and Daniel Grill of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia tried the case for the United States [1]. The jury returned guilty verdicts on all five counts on June 5, 2026 [1].
Judge Cohen scheduled sentencing for September 10, 2026 [1]. Theft of government funds carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years per count, and money laundering carries a maximum of 20 years, though the actual sentence will be calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. No defense counsel was identified in available court records.