Yomi Olayeye, a 40-year-old Nigerian man from Lagos, has been arrested and charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, and identity theft for his alleged involvement in a $10 million pandemic unemployment fraud scheme in the United States.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, under the Department of Justice, announced the arrest in a statement released on Monday. According to the statement, Olayeye was apprehended on August 13, 2024, upon his arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. He made his initial court appearance in the Eastern District of New York on August 14, 2024, and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston.
The charges against Olayeye stem from allegations that he and his co-conspirators defrauded three pandemic assistance programs between March and July 2020. These programs included traditional Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), administered by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and other state agencies.
Using stolen personal information, Olayeye and his associates allegedly applied for unemployment benefits in several states, including Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Indiana. In total, they are accused of seeking at least $10 million in fraudulent benefits and successfully obtaining over $1.5 million.
The statement further revealed that the group purchased personally identifiable information (PII) from criminal internet forums, which they used to falsely claim unemployment benefits as state residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also allegedly used the same fraudulent PII to open U.S. bank and prepaid debit card accounts to receive the payments. Additionally, the conspirators are accused of recruiting U.S.-based account holders to help transfer the fraudulently obtained funds via cash transfer applications.
The fraudulent proceeds were reportedly converted into Bitcoin through online marketplaces, and the conspirators concealed their connection to Nigeria by using U.S.-based IP addresses in their transactions.
If convicted, Olayeye faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud and conspiracy charges, as well as an additional mandatory minimum sentence of two years for aggravated identity theft. He could also face a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, along with forfeiture and restitution.
The U.S. Department of Justice noted that the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021 to bolster efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
