Extradited Nigerian Faces 32 Years In Prison After Attempt To Steal $25 Million COVID Benefits

The suspect arrived in the Western District of Washington on Thursday afternoon and made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Friday at 2 p.m.

One of two Nigerian residents living in Canada, Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, has been deported to the United States for allegedly defrauding the pandemic unemployment compensation systems in several U.S. states, according to the Western District of Washington U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Ambali, 45, was jailed in Germany pending extradition after being apprehended in Frankfurt, Germany, in February 2023 while returning to Canada from Nigeria, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office on Friday.

The suspect arrived in the Western District of Washington on Thursday afternoon and made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Friday at 2 p.m.

Ambali and co-defendant Fatiu Ismaila Lawal, 45, are accused of submitting more than 1,700 claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to more than 25 different jurisdictions, including Washington State, using the stolen identities of thousands of Americans.

The indictment states that Lawal and Ambali submitted phoney claims for COVID-19 epidemic assistance and false tax returns requesting refunds using the stolen personal information of thousands of American taxpayers and residents. The claims sought about $25 million in all, but the conspirators actually received about $2.4 million, mostly in the form of pandemic unemployment benefits.

More than 25 states, including New York, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, California, and Washington, were reportedly served with the co-conspirators’ requests for pandemic unemployment benefits. With the use of 13 Google accounts, they submitted 900 claims. Additionally, the co-conspirators reportedly created 800 different fraudulent email addresses using four internet domain names that they later exploited for fraud.

Over 2,300 phoney income tax forms totaling over $7.1 million in tax refunds are purportedly the work of Lawal and Ambali. The majority of the fraud was discovered by the IRS, and just around $30,000 in false refunds were paid.

The conspirators also sought to cheat the Small Business Administration by applying for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) using the stolen American identities.

The indictment claims that the co-conspirators sent cash cards or “money mules” with the proceeds of their fraud, who then moved the money as directed by the co-conspirators. Additionally, they allegedly opened bank accounts using stolen identities and had cash placed into those accounts for their personal use.

Ten counts of wire fraud, six counts of aggravated identity theft, and a conspiracy to commit wire fraud are all brought against Lawal and Ambali.

Lawal is still in Canada and is awaiting extradition.

The statement said that up to 30 years in jail could be imposed for the conspiracy and wire fraud offences.

A mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison must be served for aggravated identity theft, and this sentence must run concurrently with any additional prison time awarded in the case.

“The indictment’s claims are all that it contains in terms of charges. Unless and until a person is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, they are deemed innocent, the statement stated.

The investigation team in Western Washington received a lead on this case from the National Unemployment Fraud Task Force.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Department of Labour Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) provided assistance to the FBI during its investigation of the case. The Washington State Employment Security Division (ESD), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal inquiry (IRS-CI), and the Small Business Administration (SBA) also contributed to the inquiry.

Assistant United States Attorneys Cindy Chang and Seth Wilkinson of the Western District of Washington are alleged to be leading the prosecution, with support coming from the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs.

The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established by the U.S. Attorney General on May 17, 2021, to coordinate the Department of Justice’s resources with those of other government agencies in an endeavour to strengthen the fight against and prevention of pandemic-related fraud.

By enhancing and incorporating current coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and utilising information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts, the Task Force supports efforts to investigate and prosecute the most responsible domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programmes to prevent fraud.