A Nigerian national, Olamide Yusuf Bakare has bagged four years and nine months jail term in the United States (US) for fraudulent acts linked to COVID-19.
Bakare was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to U S Attorney Phillip A Talbert.
Bakare pleaded guilty in January 2023, as stated in a press release by the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California.
Court documents revealed that between June 2020 and July 2021, Bakare, along with co-defendants Quazeem Owolabi Adeyinka and Ayodeji Jonathan Sangode, and others, participated in a conspiracy to submit fraudulent Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claimed to the States of Maryland and California.
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Over 200 individual applications were filed with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) and the Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL), all indicating the defendants’ shared address in Hyattsville, Maryland.
During the conspiracy, the conspirators illegally obtained Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of individuals who were not eligible for UI or PUA benefits.
PII included names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of individuals who did not authorize the conspirators to act on their behalf to seek these benefits.
In addition, Bakare possessed three UI debit cards issued by different state agencies: Maine’s Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, North Carolina’s Division of Employment Security, and Nevada’s Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation.
The cards were not in Bakare’s name, nor were the associated benefits intended for him.
Bakare knowingly possessed the cards with the intent to defraud the state agencies.
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The debit cards linked to bank accounts that Bakare possessed and used during the conspiracy received a staggering amount of fraudulent UI and PUA benefits, totaling at least $2,265,844.
The 26-year-old used part of the money to purchase a condo in Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria, for 70 million naira. The asset, however, has been ordered forfeited.
Adeyinka pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while Sangode pleaded guilty to access device fraud.
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They were scheduled to be sentenced by US District Judge Dale A Drozd on Aug 22, 2023.
Adeyinka faced a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years, and Sangode faced a maximum statutory sentence of 15 years.
The actual sentences will be determined by the Court, taking into account applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
