Yomi Jones Olayeye, a Nigerian national also known as “Sabbie,” has been arrested for his alleged role in a scheme to fraudulently secure at least $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits from the U.S. government.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced Olayeye’s arrest on Monday. The Nigerian, originally from Lagos, was detained on August 13 upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Olayeye is accused of orchestrating a scheme between March and July 2020 to defraud three pandemic assistance programs managed by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance: traditional Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).
According to the statement, Olayeye and his accomplices allegedly purchased personally identifiable information (PII) from criminal internet forums to falsely apply for UI, PUA, and FPUC benefits, pretending to be eligible state residents impacted by COVID-19. They reportedly used the same stolen PII to open U.S. bank accounts and prepaid debit cards to receive the benefits. The group is also alleged to have recruited U.S.-based account holders to transfer the stolen funds through cash transfer applications, which were then used to buy Bitcoin via online platforms. To conceal their connection to Nigeria, they purportedly used U.S. Internet Protocol addresses for their fraudulent activities.
Overall, Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly applied for at least $10 million in fraudulent benefits across several states, including Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine, Ohio, and Washington, and received over $1.5 million in undeserved aid.
The charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, along with three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, forfeiture, and restitution. The charge of aggravated identity theft adds a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison to any sentence imposed for the wire fraud charges. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes.
