Yomi Jones Olayeye, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Fraud, Massachusetts 2024

BOSTON – A brazen scheme to steal over $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits has been foiled, with a Nigerian man arrested and charged with multiple counts of fraud.

Yomi Jones Olayeye, a/k/a “Sabbie,” 40, of Lagos, Nigeria, was taken into custody upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on August 13, 2024. He is charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to the charging document, between March and July 2020, Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly used personally identifiable information (PII) purchased over criminal internet forums to apply for pandemic assistance programs, including traditional unemployment insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). The scheme allegedly netted over $10 million in fraudulent UI, PUA, and FPUC from multiple states, including Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine, Ohio, and Washington.

Olayeye and his co-conspirators allegedly used the same fraudulently obtained PII to open U.S. bank and prepaid debit card accounts to receive the assistance payments. They also recruited U.S.-based account holders to receive and transfer the fraud proceeds via cash transfer applications. The proceeds were then allegedly used to purchase Bitcoin via online marketplaces.

The charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, forfeiture, and restitution. The charge of aggravated identity theft calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison to be added to any sentence imposed on the wire fraud charge.

Olayeye made an initial appearance in the Eastern District of New York on August 14, 2024, and will appear in federal court in Boston tomorrow. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Special Agent in Charge Andrew Murphy of the U.S. Secret Service Boston Field Office; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, made the announcement today.

The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established in May 2021, has been instrumental in combating and preventing pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud.