A Nigerian man, Atuchukwu Onyeanusi, has been sentenced in a United States federal court after admitting to using a stolen identity and forged documents to obtain a job as a cyber threat analyst with a health organisation in South Dakota.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota, Onyeanusi, 32, received a sentence of time already served in custody, amounting to just under six months, to be followed by one year of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a 1,000 dollar fine and a 100 dollar special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Prosecutors said a federal grand jury had indicted Onyeanusi on multiple counts, including fraud and misuse of visas and permits, use of false or fictitious documents, and aggravated identity theft. He later entered a guilty plea to the charges.

Investigators revealed that Onyeanusi, a lawful permanent resident in the United States, came under scrutiny after a routine traffic stop in Oklahoma. Law enforcement officers pulled him over for speeding and discovered that he was carrying a Texas commercial driver’s licence bearing his photograph but issued in another person’s name.

Officers also found an employee identification card for the Great Plains Tribal Leaders’ Health Board, based in Rapid City, South Dakota, in the same false name. The card listed his position as a cyber threat analyst, a role that typically involves monitoring and defending computer networks against hacking, data breaches and other digital intrusions.

Further investigation showed that Onyeanusi had used the fraudulent Texas licence and a counterfeit Social Security card to secure employment with the organisation. On mandatory immigration employment paperwork, he falsely claimed to be a United States citizen, a misrepresentation that formed part of the federal charges against him.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that the prosecution was brought under Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative targeting immigration-related fraud, transnational criminal activity and offences involving identity theft and document misuse.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in conjunction with the Craig County Sheriff’s Office in Vinita, Oklahoma. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder, who argued that the use of stolen identities and forged documents to access sensitive positions posed a risk to both institutional security and public trust.