A Nigerian man, identified as Yomi Olayeye, has been arrested and charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, and identity theft for his alleged involvement in a $10 million pandemic unemployment fraud scheme in the United States.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts revealed this in a statement posted on its website on Monday.
According to the statement, Olayeye, 40, also known as “Sabbie” and from Lagos, Nigeria, was apprehended on August 13, 2024, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. He faces one count each of wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Olayeye appeared initially in the Eastern District of New York on August 14, 2024, and is set to appear in federal court in Boston.
The charges relate to allegations that between March and July 2020, Olayeye and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained at least $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits from three programs managed by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and other state agencies: traditional unemployment insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).
The statement alleges that Olayeye and his associates used stolen personal information to file for unemployment benefits in several states, including Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Indiana. In total, they allegedly applied for at least $10 million in fraudulent benefits from multiple states and received over $1.5 million in funds to which they were not entitled.
Olayeye and his co-conspirators reportedly obtained personally identifiable information (PII) through criminal online forums and used it to falsely represent themselves as eligible residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. They allegedly opened U.S. bank and prepaid debit card accounts to receive the illicit payments and recruited U.S.-based account holders to assist in moving the fraudulent funds through cash transfer applications.
The conspirators are also accused of using the fraud proceeds to purchase Bitcoin and of masking their connections to Nigeria by using U.S.-based IP addresses.
If convicted, Olayeye could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine or twice the financial loss or gain involved, forfeiture, and restitution. The charge of aggravated identity theft carries an additional mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison.
The U.S. Department of Justice highlighted that the charges come as part of efforts by the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established on May 17, 2021, to coordinate the fight against pandemic-related fraud across various government agencies.