Nigerian Citizen Sentenced for Pandemic Relief Fraud Scheme

A Nigerian citizen has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Temitope Bashua, 29, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. This case is part of a broader effort by the Department of Justice to combat fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the CARES Act.

The fraudulent activities, which spanned from May 2020 to September 2022, involved the use of stolen personally identifiable information (PII) to submit fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in Maryland and California. Bashua and his co-conspirators impersonated victims, utilizing their PII without authorization to file these claims. In addition to unemployment benefits fraud, the scheme also extended to the acquisition of Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). In October 2020, fraudulent EIDL applications were submitted to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for fictitious businesses, again using the PII of identity theft victims. These fraudulent applications resulted in Bashua receiving over $290,000 in U.S. Treasury funds from the SBA. Bashua’s admitted involvement also encompassed other illicit activities, including cyber intrusion, romance fraud, and business email compromise schemes.

The CARES Act, enacted in March 2020, aimed to provide financial assistance to Americans impacted by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs established by this act, such as the Paycheck Protection Program administered by the SBA and the EIDL, were intended to help businesses maintain their operations. EIDL advances, which do not require repayment, could be up to $10,000. The District of Maryland Strike Force, one of five established nationwide, is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting large-scale pandemic relief fraud, often perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. These strike forces operate as interagency law enforcement efforts, employing data analyst-driven teams to identify and prosecute those who misappropriated pandemic relief funds.

Individuals with information regarding attempted fraud involving COVID-19 relief efforts are encouraged to report it. This can be done by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or by submitting a complaint through the NCDF Web Complaint Form.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland.

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