A Nigerian man named Yomi Jones Olayeye, also known as “Sabbie,” has been arrested for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain at least $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits from the U.S. government.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced the arrest in a statement on Monday. Olayeye, who is from Lagos, Nigeria, was taken into custody on August 13 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
According to the statement, Olayeye is accused of orchestrating a scheme between March and July 2020 to defraud three pandemic assistance programs managed by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance: traditional Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated, “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. 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.”
The statement further explained, “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 U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly applied for at least $10 million in fraudulent unemployment benefits from nine states, including Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine, Ohio, and Washington. They are accused of receiving more than $1.5 million in assistance they were not entitled to.
The charges against Olayeye include wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, which could result in 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. Additionally, the charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, which would be added to any sentence for the wire fraud charge.
Sentences in such cases are determined by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes governing criminal sentencing.
