Nigerian pleads guilty to $415,874 US unemployment insurance fraud

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🇳🇬 Here's What Happened

Oyewusi, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland on Thursday.

The prosecution is part of the Trump administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

US Attorney for the District of Maryland, Kelly O. Hayes, announced the guilty plea alongside Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari of the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito of the US Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

📌 Key Details

According to his guilty plea, Oyewusi and others, between September 2020 and at least March 2021, conspired to defraud state workforce authorities, including the Maryland Department of Labor, to obtain fraudulent unemployment insurance funds.

“Through the conspiracy, Oyewusi and his co-conspirators used the identities of real people to obtain fraudulent UI from the state of Maryland and other states,” the statement said.

After obtaining access to the funds, Oyewusi allegedly transferred and withdrew the stolen money through electronic transfers and ATM withdrawals.

The statement said Oyewusi and his co-conspirators victimised individuals through identity theft, state workforce authorities through the theft of unemployment insurance funds, and a financial institution by misdirecting unemployment insurance fund transfers and fraudulent transactions.

Oyewusi was directly connected to at least $415,874.63 in actual losses and personally obtained at least $25,000 through his participation in the scheme.

The co-conspirators allegedly used victims’ personally identifiable information to submit false unemployment insurance claims to various state workforce authorities, including the Maryland Department of Labor and the California Employment Development Department.

📰 Source: Punch Nigeria

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