A United States court has sentenced a Nigerian, Abiola Quadri, to 11 years in prison for defrauding California and Nevada out of $1.3m in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment and disability insurance benefits.
The Nigerian scammed Americans by submitting more than 100 fraudulent applications, using stolen identities and using the money to establish a nightclub and mall in Nigeria.
According to a press release on Thursday by the US Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, Quadri was also ordered to pay $1,356,229 in restitution and a $35,000 fine.
The 43-year-old, living in Pasadena, San Gabriel Valley, was sentenced by US District Judge George Wu.
Court documents revealed that Quadri, who pleaded guilty on January 2 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, acquired permanent residency in the US through a “fake wedding.”
He withdrew the fraudulent unemployment and disability benefits at ATMs from 2021 until his arrest in September 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport, where he was slated to fly to Nigeria.
“California paid Quadri to provide daycare services to developmentally disabled children through his Altadena-based business, Rock of Peace. When agents searched Quadri’s residence, they found the children’s misappropriated food-aid debit cards,” the report said.
The report disclosed that he sent at least $500,000 home during the scheme and also paid for the construction of a 120-room resort hotel, which includes a nightclub, a mall, and additional high-end amenities in Nigeria.
Investigators discovered images of 17 counterfeit cheques on his phone totaling more than $3.3m, along with messages about negotiating the cheques.
