A Nigerian national, Adepoju Babatunde Salako, has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison by a United States District Court for his involvement in a $5m fraud scheme connected to COVID-19 relief programmes.
Details of the conviction were disclosed in a statement released on Thursday by the United States Department of Justice, which stated that Salako, 34, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received a 78-month federal prison sentence after admitting to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
As part of the plea deal, the defendant also agreed to plead guilty to seven additional wire fraud charges filed in the District of Alaska.
The court further ordered him to pay restitution of $2,581,002.50 to victims affected by the fraudulent activities.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, investigations revealed that Salako participated in the scheme throughout much of 2021, taking advantage of economic relief initiatives introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Court documents showed that the fraud ring illegally obtained more than $5m from government support schemes, including the Paycheck Protection Program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, and unemployment benefit programmes in about 30 states.
Authorities said Salako worked alongside two accomplices who allegedly used stolen personal information to submit fraudulent applications for loans and unemployment benefits.
The statement explained that the conspirators relied on identities belonging to victims of identity theft to secure fraudulent PPP loans, unemployment payments and EIDL loans.
Investigators added that Salako’s role involved receiving funds sent by romance scam victims and government agencies and laundering the proceeds, mainly transferring the money to China and Nigeria in exchange for a commission estimated at about 25 per cent.
Commenting on the sentence, the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, Peter McNeilly, condemned the actions of the defendant and reiterated the government’s commitment to prosecuting individuals who defraud public programmes.
McNeilly said Salako and his associates exploited unsuspecting victims and diverted millions of dollars meant to support citizens during a national crisis.
Also reacting, the Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Area Field Office of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Matthew Modafferi, noted that the sentence sends a strong warning to anyone who seeks to misuse government funds for criminal gain.
