Nigerian arrested in US over $10m COVID-19 aid fraud
Nigerian national Yomi Jones Olayeye, known as "Sabbie," is arrested for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to fraudulently claim at least $10 million in U.S. COVID-19 unemployment benefits. Facing charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, Olayeye could face up to 20 years in prison.
Nigerian national Yomi Jones Olayeye, also known as “Sabbie,” has been arrested in connection with a scheme to fraudulently acquire at least $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits from the U.S. government. The arrest was made on August 13 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Olayeye, from Lagos, Nigeria, is alleged to have masterminded the scheme between March and July 2020, targeting three pandemic assistance programs managed by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance: Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).
According to the statement, Olayeye and his associates allegedly procured personally identifiable information (PII) through illicit online forums. They used this information to fraudulently apply for the assistance programs, pretending to be eligible residents impacted by COVID-19. The fraudulently obtained PII was used to open U.S. bank accounts and prepaid debit cards to collect the payments. Additionally, the group allegedly recruited U.S.-based account holders to handle and transfer the fraudulently obtained funds through cash transfer apps and purchased Bitcoin with the illicit proceeds. To obscure their connection to Nigeria, they used U.S.-based IP addresses for the fraudulent transactions.
The alleged fraud impacted multiple states, including Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine, Ohio, and Washington, with the group receiving over $1.5 million in unauthorized assistance.
Olayeye faces serious charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy, which carry potential penalties of up to 20 years in prison, fines, and restitution. The charge of aggravated identity theft could add a mandatory minimum of two years to any sentence imposed. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
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