A United States District Court has sentenced a 34-year-old Nigerian, Adepoju Babatunde Salako, to six and a half years’ imprisonment for his role in a $5m COVID-19 pandemic relief fraud.
It was learnt on Thursday from a statement published on the website of the United States Department of Justice that Salako, who resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was handed a 78-month federal prison term after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
The statement added that as part of his plea agreement, Salako also agreed to plead guilty to seven additional counts of wire fraud in the District of Alaska.
It noted that the court further ordered him to pay $2,581,002.50 in restitution to victims of the fraud.
“The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Adepoju Babatunde Salako, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
“As part of the plea agreement, Salako also agreed to plead guilty to seven counts of wire fraud in the District of Alaska. The defendant was ordered to pay $2,581,002.50 in restitution to the victims of his crimes,” the statement read.
According to court documents, Salako participated in the scheme for most of 2021, exploiting economic relief measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Throughout most of the year 2021, Salako was part of a conspiracy that stole more than $5m from the Paycheck Protection Program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme, and 30 state unemployment programmes through several complex schemes,” the statement added.
Providing further details, the statement said Salako and two accomplices used stolen identities to obtain fraudulent loans and unemployment benefits.
“In one scheme, Salako and two co-conspirators used information belonging to identity theft victims to fraudulently obtain PPP loans and unemployment benefits, and submitted fraudulent applications for EIDL loans.
“Salako’s role was to receive money from romance scam victims and government agencies and launder the proceeds, primarily to China and Nigeria, for a fee of approximately 25 per cent,” it stated.
Reacting to the sentence, the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, Peter McNeilly, condemned the fraud and reiterated the government’s resolve to prosecute offenders.
“Mr Salako and his criminal associates exploited innocent people and stole millions of dollars from American taxpayers. We are committed to finding and prosecuting fraudsters and, as this sentence demonstrates, these criminals will pay a high price for their actions,” he said.
Also commenting, the Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, Matthew Modafferi, warned that severe penalties await those who abuse public trust.
“The sentence imposed on the defendant stands as a clear warning that serious consequences await anyone who exploits government resources to commit criminal acts,” the statement added.
