⏱ 2 min read
Adepoju Babatunde Salako, a 33-year-old Pennsylvania man, devised a scheme to defraud the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) program in 2022. Between January and February of that year, Salako fraudulently obtained personal identifying information (PII) for legitimate Alaskan residents and submitted seven separate applications to the Alaska DOR to obtain their PFD funds. He did this from Philadelphia, using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to make it appear as though six of the applications were submitted from Alaska.
Salako created new email accounts for each resident and gained control of their existing ‘myAlaska’ online accounts. He then changed the account information to route communications and PFD payments to accounts he controlled. However, the State of Alaska detected the fraudulent applications and denied them. In 2022, eligible PFD applicants were paid $3,284.00 each.
Salako’s scheme ultimately failed, and he was caught. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison. The case highlights the importance of protecting personal identifying information and the need for vigilance in preventing fraud schemes.
The Alaska Department of Revenue and law enforcement agencies worked together to investigate and prosecute Salako. The outcome of the case serves as a warning to those who would attempt to scam the state out of thousands of dollars.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Defendant: Alaska
- Location: AK
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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