A Salt Lake City employee who quietly turned corporate gift cards into her own cash pipeline is headed to federal prison. Prosecutors say Benedicta Okunlola spent nearly $1.4 million in company funds on thousands of prepaid cards, then used the money for rent, travel, and everyday living expenses that had nothing to do with her job.
Okunlola, 32, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Nov. 18, 2025, and was sentenced Friday in Salt Lake City. U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby handed down a 15-month federal prison term and ordered her to pay $1,398,014 in restitution, along with a $5,000 lump sum at or before sentencing. Investigators with the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office determined that while working as a merchant growth specialist, she issued 2,343 prepaid gift cards to herself, an online art business, and family members, then burned through the funds on rent, groceries, rideshares, dining, and overseas trips, according to KJZZ.
“Okunlola’s actions were not a mistake or a lapse in judgment. It was a deliberate scheme driven by greed,” Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office, said in court filings. U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak told prosecutors the stolen funds appeared to have been used to “fund her jet-setting lifestyle,” according to statements quoted in the case record and reported by KJZZ.
How prosecutors say she did it
According to prosecutors, Okunlola had a critical advantage: she was the only employee allowed to purchase gift cards from an outside vendor for marketing incentives. They say she kept many of the suspicious buys under the company’s secondary approval thresholds, which meant fewer eyes on the transactions and a much smaller chance anyone would question the pattern.
That setup, where a single worker controls both the purchase and distribution of incentive cards, is a known weak spot and has surfaced before in Utah. In 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted a separate gift card fraud case built on similar mechanics, underscoring how easily incentive programs can be twisted when internal controls are thin.
Why gift card schemes are hard to spot
Gift cards are popular with scammers for a reason: they move money fast, leave limited paper trails, and are tough to claw back. That makes them appealing not only for outside fraudsters but also for insiders who understand how their employer’s systems work.
The Federal Trade Commission has long warned that any demand for payment via gift card should be treated as a major red flag. The FTC maintains detailed guidance on how to recognize, avoid, and report gift card fraud, urging both consumers and businesses to slow down and scrutinize any such requests.
Local precedent and what employers can do
Utah has seen how quietly this kind of abuse can play out. A former North Logan library director was prosecuted after investigators found that library funds had been routed through gift card purchases, an episode that highlighted how even small public institutions can be vulnerable when oversight is lax, according to FOX13.
Both that case and federal prosecutors in the Okunlola matter point to the same basic safeguards: separate who can approve and who can buy, set layered approval thresholds that trigger reviews and audit card-based programs regularly before the numbers spiral into six or seven figures.
Okunlola will serve her 15-month sentence in federal custody and will remain on the hook for the full restitution ordered by the court. Federal prosecutors say they intend to keep pursuing similar financial crimes and are urging anyone with relevant information to contact the FBI or the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
