Abidemi Rufai, the suspended aide of Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment by a District Court in Western Tacoma, Washington, the United States for wire fraud and identity theft. According to a statement issued by the United States Attorney, Western District of Washington, Nick Brown, the ex-aide stole information of around 20,000 Americans to conduct various cyber fraud.
The statement reads in part, “A 45-year old resident of Lekki, Nigeria, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to five years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his attempt to steal nearly $2.4m from the United States government, including approximately $500,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits.
“He orchestrated ‘mystery shopper’ scams, business email compromise attempts, and filed fake tax returns to financially harm individuals and businesses.
“But when disaster struck, so did Mr. Rufai. Whether it was hurricane disaster relief, small business loans, or COVID unemployment benefits, he stole aid that should have gone to disaster victims in the United States”.
He also submitted fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims in at least 17 other states including Hawaii, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, amongst others.
Rufai was arrested on his way to Nigeria in May 2021 at New York’s JFK Airport.
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