Three Nigerians based in the United States, Kamaldeen Karaole, Stephen Olamigoke, and Johnson Omodusonu, have been sentenced to more than eight years in jail for defrauding the US of $520,910 in a COVID-19 unemployment benefits fraud scheme.
This is just as one of the convicts also agreed to be deported to Nigeria upon completing his jail term.
PUNCH Metro learnt from a statement obtained from the US Department of Justice on Thursday that the trio stole, in 2020, no fewer than 168 Unemployment Insurance debit cards belonging to other people.
According to the statement, court documents revealed that between August and October 2020, the convicts, in connivance with other suspects outside the US, used the stolen debit cards and passwords to file false unemployment benefits claims.
The statement added that 98 of the cards were used to withdraw cash from various Automated Teller Machines across the US.
It read, “These cards, issued by the states of California, Arizona, and Nevada, were being periodically loaded with benefits. None of the cards belonged to the members of the conspiracy — they were all in the names of real individuals.
“To obtain the cards, other members of the conspiracy located outside the United States used stolen personally identifiable information to file numerous false unemployment claims with various state workforce agencies.
“The trio used 98 of the cards to withdraw cash from various ATMs in and around Indianapolis, often making multiple withdrawals within the span of just a few minutes. In total, they completed 529 withdrawals, stealing $520,910 in benefits.”
Following their arrests, they were arraigned on different charges bordering on conspiracy and aggravated identity theft, among others.
It noted that 24-year-old Karaole was charged with aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and access device fraud, to which he pleaded guilty.
Karaole was sentenced to four years and three months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release.
Similarly, 23-year-old Olamigoke was found guilty of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and access device fraud, and was sentenced to two and a half years’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release.
Also, 24-year-old Omodusonu of Indianapolis was found guilty of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and access device fraud, and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release.
“Each defendant was also ordered to pay $520,910 in restitution.
“At the time Stephen Olamigoke entered his guilty plea, he acknowledged that upon completion of his sentence, he will be subject to removal from the United States,” the statement noted.
PUNCH Metro had earlier reported on August 6 that a France-based Nigerian, Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, faced up to 47 years’ imprisonment following his extradition to the US for his alleged involvement in wire fraud, hacking, and identity theft that resulted in losses of $819,000 to victims.
According to the US DoJ, in 2019, Amachukwu, along with other conspirators, allegedly hacked into “US-based tax preparation businesses, including several businesses located in New York, Texas, and other states, by utilising spear-phishing emails to obtain access to these businesses’ electronic systems.”(Punch)
