A Nigerian man, Yomi Olayeye, has been arrested and charged in the United States with conspiracy, wire fraud, and identity theft in connection with a $10 million pandemic unemployment assistance fraud scheme. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Olayeye, 40, was taken into
custody on 13 August 2024 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York
City. According to authorities, he and his co-conspirators fraudulently
obtained at least $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits from various
states, including Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Indiana.
The Department of Justice
alleges that between March and July 2020, Olayeye and others defrauded three
pandemic assistance programs: traditional unemployment insurance, Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
(FPUC). The indictment claims they used stolen personal information to submit
fraudulent applications, resulting in the receipt of over $1.5 million in
undeserved benefits.
Olayeye is accused of using the
fraudulently obtained personal information to open U.S. bank and prepaid debit
card accounts to receive the assistance payments. It is also alleged that he
and his co-conspirators recruited U.S.-based account holders to facilitate the
transfer of the fraudulent proceeds via cash transfer applications. The funds
were reportedly converted into Bitcoin, and efforts were made to conceal the
conspiracy’s ties to Nigeria by using U.S.-based internet protocol addresses.
Olayeye made his initial court
appearance in New York on 14 August and is scheduled to appear in federal court
in Boston on 22 August.
If convicted, Olayeye faces up
to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud and conspiracy charges, along with a
fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, forfeiture, and restitution.
The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two
additional years in prison.
The U.S. Attorney General
established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021 to coordinate
efforts to combat pandemic-related fraud. This case highlights the ongoing
challenges in safeguarding public funds and prosecuting those who exploit
emergency assistance programmes.
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