On August 13, 2024, Yomi Jones Olayeye, a 40-year-old Nigerian national, was taken into custody at JFK International Airport on charges related to a fraud scheme that allegedly siphoned at least $10 million from pandemic unemployment assistance programs.
Olayeye, also known by the alias "Sabbie," is confronting allegations of wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, according to a report released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. The accused along with unnamed conspirators is said to have utilized stolen personal information from criminal internet forums to falsely apply for aid purportedly meant for residents financially hit by the pandemic.
Charging documents cited on the Department of Justice's website allege that the fraudulent applications were processed for three programs including the traditional Unemployment Insurance (UI), the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). Olayeye's first appearance in court was on August 14, 2024, in New York and he is scheduled to appear in a federal court in Boston subsequently.
The complex operation involved the opening of bank and prepaid debit card accounts in the U.S., using them to collect fraudulent payments, followed by recruiting U.S. residents to transfer proceeds and ultimately purchasing Bitcoin to launder the money; the conspirators also attempted to mask the scheme's connection to Nigeria by leasing local Internet Protocol addresses for the transactions. As recounted by authorities, over $1.5 million was illicitly obtained from various state agencies including Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine, Ohio, and Washington.
If found guilty, Olayeye faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison for each of the fraud charges, a mandatory minimum of two years for identity theft, along with fines, forfeiture, and restitution; the sentences, which would be determined based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes, are yet to be decided by a federal district court judge. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, part of a larger effort by the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force established in May 2021 to combat pandemic-related fraud.
The public is urged to report any suspected pandemic-related fraud to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline, accessible via their web complaint form. While the allegations detailed point to extensive illegal activities, the principle of presumption of innocence remains, and the defendant is to be considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
