US authorities arrest Nigerian for $10m pandemic benefits fraud

A Nigerian man has been arrested for allegedly defrauding the United States government of at least $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits.

The suspect, Yomi Jones Olayeye, also known as "Sabbie," was detained on August 13 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York upon his arrival from Lagos, Nigeria.

According to a statement released on Monday, August 19, by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, Olayeye, along with several co-conspirators, is accused of orchestrating a sophisticated scheme that targeted three pandemic assistance programs administered by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance.

The programs involved are Traditional Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).

Between March and July 2020, Olayeye and his associates allegedly used personally identifiable information (PII) purchased from criminal internet forums to apply for unemployment benefits fraudulently.

"Olayeye and his co-conspirators falsely represented themselves to be eligible state residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The suspects allegedly opened U.S. bank accounts and prepaid debit card accounts to receive the funds using the stolen PII.

They also recruited U.S.-based account holders to receive and transfer the fraudulent proceeds via cash transfer applications. The illicit gains were then used to purchase Bitcoin through online marketplaces.

Olayeye and his co-conspirators reportedly received over $1.5 million in fraudulent assistance payments. If convicted, Olayeye faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud, with an additional two years for aggravated identity theft.

He made his first court appearance in New York on August 14 and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston today.