A Nigerian man has been charged to court, and is estimated to spend 20 years in prison of found guilt of fraud in America.
According to reports from PUNCH, the man, identified as Yomi Olaleye was said to have conspired with two other people to have stolen $10 million of the COVID-19 employment relief funds.
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Yomi was said to have been arrested at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on August 13, 2024, on charges of conspiring to obtain the funds.
Confirming the arrest through the official website of the US Attorney office for the District of Massachusetts, the acting US Attorney Joshua Levy said the arrest is part of the ongoing efforts to combat and prevent all frauds related to pandemic.
Court documents revealed that Yomi, and his other conspirators were alleged to have filed for at least $10m in fraudulent pandemic relief programmes across multiple states, including Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine, Ohio, and Washington. They were believed to have received over $1.5m in assistance to which they were not entitled.
The statement revealed that the suspect had been charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
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The statement partly read,
“Specifically, Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly used personally identifiable information (PII) they purchased over criminal Internet forums to apply for UI, PUA, and FPUC—falsely representing themselves as eligible state residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly used the same fraudulently obtained PII to open U.S. bank and prepaid debit card accounts to receive the assistance payments. It is also alleged that Olayeye and his co-conspirators recruited U.S.-based account holders to receive and transfer the fraud proceeds via cash transfer applications.
“Olayeye and his co-conspirators then allegedly used the fraudulent proceeds to purchase bitcoin via online marketplaces. It is further alleged that Olayeye and his co-conspirators concealed the conspiracy’s connection to Nigeria by leasing Internet Protocol addresses assigned to computers located in the US for use in the fraudulent transactions.”
If convicted, Olaleye faces up to 20 years in a US prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, along with forfeiture and restitution.
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