A Nigerian has been arrested for allegedly conspiring to
obtain at least $10 million COVID-19 unemployment benefits from the United
States (U.S.) government.
A statement issued on Monday by the U.S. attorney’s office,
district of Massachusetts, said Yomi Jones Olayeye (aka “Sabbie),” from
Lagos was arrested on August 13.
Olayeye was picked up upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
According to the court, between March and July 2020, Olayeye
and others defrauded three pandemic assistance programs administrated by the
Massachusetts department of unemployment assistance; the traditional
unemployment insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Federal
Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).
“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 to be
eligible state residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the attorney’s
office said.
“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 United States for use in the fraudulent transactions.”
The statement said the 40-year-old and his co-conspirators
successfully received over $1.5 million in assistance to which they were not
entitled.
In the US, charges of wire fraud and its conspiracy provide
for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release,
a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, forfeiture, and
restitution.
The aggravated identity theft charge calls for a mandatory
minimum sentence of two years in prison to be added to any sentence imposed on
the wire fraud charge.
The US attorney’s office said Olayeye made his first
appearance in a New York district court on August 14 and will appear in federal
court in Boston on Tuesday August 20, 2024
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