Nigerian pleads guilty to $415,874 US unemployment insurance fraud
A Nigerian national has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a US unemployment fraud scheme totaling over $41 Read More: https://punchng.com/nigerian-pleads-guilty-to-415874-us-unemployment-insurance-fraud/
Akinpelumi Olawale Oyewusi, a 60-year-old Nigerian man from Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to involvement in a cross-country unemployment insurance fraud scheme, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Oyewusi operated with others between September 2020 and at least March 2021, allegedly using real people's identities to obtain fraudulent unemployment insurance funds from state workforce authorities, including the Maryland Department of Labor, and other states. The scheme resulted in at least $415,874.63 in actual losses, with Oyewusi personally obtaining at least $25,000.
Co-conspirators falsified victims' unemployment status and prior work history using their Social Security numbers and names to submit false claims. The fraudsters received the funds via bank-issued debit cards mailed to various addresses and accessed the money through ATMs, withdrawing over $69,000. Sentencing for Oyewusi is scheduled for December 3, 2021.
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