A Nigerian, Yomi Olayeye, has been arrested for his alleged role in a $10 million Covid-19 unemployment assistance fraud scheme in the United States and charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, and identity theft.

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts under the Department of Justice said Olayeye was apprehended on August 13 upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

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The office in a statement posted on its website on Monday said Olayeye and others “conspired to fraudulently obtain at least $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits.”

“Yomi Jones Olayeye, a/k/a “Sabbie,” 40, of Lagos, Nigeria, is charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. He made an initial appearance in the Eastern District of New York on August 14, 2024 and will appear in federal court in Boston tomorrow (Tuesday),” the statement said.

Olayeye and others allegedly defrauded three pandemic assistance programmes administrated by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and other states’ unemployment insurance agencies: traditional unemployment insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).

They were alleged to have used stolen personal information to apply for unemployment benefits in multiple states, including Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Indiana.

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“In total, Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly applied for at least $10 million in fraudulent UI, PUA and FPUC from Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine, Ohio and Washington and received more than $1.5 million in assistance to which they were not entitled.

“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. 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,” the statement added.

They were also alleged to have used the benefits to purchase Bitcoin and concealed their connection to Nigeria by using US-based IP addresses.

“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 statement read.

The United States Department of Justice further explained that if convicted, Olayeye faces 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.