Evil Nigerians in $1.4m COVID-19 Scam in US

Evil Nigerians in $1.4m COVID-19 Scam in US

Leveraging on the adverse effect of COVID -19 and its atendant job loses just like the dubious always exploit situations, three Nigerians in America showed their dubuity by making job loss claims in what one of the managers of such schemes descrbed as exploiting the soft hearted and care for humanity which the croocked latch on to.

However, though the trio were smart, they left traces through which technology assisted with human intelligence bursted them as the federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) arrested them after a pinstaking investigation.

The suspects who were caugtht by Automated Teller Machi9ne cameras had their drivers licences matched which positively identified them were Quazeem Owolabi Adeyinka, 20, Ayodeji Jonathan Sangode, 22, and Olamide Yusuf Bakare who were alleged to have stolen 2.6 million in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.
“Security cameras attached to Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in the United States of America helped capture the Nigerian youths who allegedly fraudulently obtained more than $1.4 million (about N580 million) jobless benefits from the states of Arizona, California, North Carolina, and Maryland,” documents filed in court said.

The Nigerians allegedly used an address in Hyattsville, Maryland, to steal $1.4 million from different cities in the United States like California, Arizona, Maryland and North Carolina. Authorities said at least $1.2 million of the stolen funds was from California’s Employment Development Department.
Details gleaned from court papers said the internet fraudsters filed over 200 unemployment claims with California’s EDD using a single address on 75th Avenue in Hyattsville out of which 97 of the applications pulled through and were approved.

John C. Collins, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Labor said the ring was investigated by a combined team of the FBI, Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and state law enforcement authorities.

“Based on the size of the apartment, the investigation has concluded that a high number of UI applications associated with this address is unreasonable, and thus an indicator of fraudulent activity. “(Bank of America) records show that 142 UI claim profiles using the 75th Avenue apartment address issued a total of 175 prepaid cards from the states of Arizona, California, Maryland, and North Carolina,” Mr. Collins said in the complaint filed in California.

Investigators said several attempts to claim bogus unemployment insurance were made using the same address from Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Texas, Washington and West Virginia. They allegedly filed claims that they lost their job due to the COVID outbreak. They claimed they were working as accountant, dance therapist, computer consultant, librarian or other occupations, and allegedly used untraceable IP addresses.

“The funds the young men fraudulently obtained were depleted through purchases, transfers, and ATM cash withdrawals conducted in California, Florida, and Maryland, according to prosecutors. ATM withdrawals alone amounted to over $989,000.

“Bank of America (BofA) records show that, on or about July 19, 2020, an individual appearing to be Adeyinka based on a comparison with his driver’s license photo, withdrew $1,000 cash using BofA-EDD debit card ending in 2312 in the name of K.K. at the Landover Hills Bank of America ATM located at 7515 Annapolis Road, Hyattsville, Maryland.

“More BofA records show that, on or around July 5, 2020, an individual appearing to be Bakare based on his driver’s license photo withdrew cash using the 7990 BofA-EDD debit card at a BofA ATM located at 10200 Lake Arbor Way, Mitchellville, Maryland.

“Also, footage from Bank of America shows that Sangode’s Hyundai (MD license plate 3DS7400) was surveilled at a BofA drive-through ATM located at 3413 Kenilworth Ave, Hyattsville, Maryland. The driver of the vehicle resembles Sangode based on a comparison using his MD driver’s license photo,” investigators said.

Other withdrawals were said to have been effected at different dates and a look at the particulars of those that carried out the transactions matched the three who have been arrested
On how the fraudster were able to pull such a heist, federal authorities explained that they observed that the “scammers and con artists were taking advantage of the high volume of COVID-19 cheques being sent out to cushion the effect of the pandemic amongst Americans.”

President of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland, Angie Barnett, said some sources estimate that such fraud had increased by up to 3,000% since the coronavirus pandemic, and catching and prosecuting the criminals was tough.

“The bad people are capitalising on the grief and the fragility of our society. We’re emotional, we’re fragile and our financial care and concern, and scammers take advantage of that,” Barnett lamented.

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