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Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, one of two Nigerian citizens living in Canada, has been extradited to the United States. He is facing allegations of defrauding pandemic unemployment benefit programs in several U.S. states, according to the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington.
Ambali, aged 45, was apprehended in February 2023, while in Frankfurt, Germany. He was on his return journey to Canada from Nigeria when he was arrested and subsequently detained in Germany. The US Attorney’s Office released a statement on Friday confirming this development.
The defendant had his initial court appearance in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma at 2 pm on Friday, following his arrival in the Western District of Washington the previous Thursday afternoon.
Ambali, along with his codefendant Fatiu Ismaila Lawal, also aged 45, stands accused of utilizing stolen identities of numerous Americans. Their purpose was to submit more than 1,700 fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment benefits across 25 different states, including Washington State.
The indictment outlines that both Lawal and Ambali employed the purloined personal information of a multitude of U.S. taxpayers and residents. Their intent was to file deceitful claims for COVID-19 pandemic aid and fabricated tax returns, all in an attempt to secure refunds. The total value of the claims was estimated to be around $25 million, yet the duo managed to obtain roughly $2.4 million. The majority of this sum came from pandemic unemployment benefits.
The alleged co-conspirators reportedly filed claims for pandemic unemployment benefits across over 25 states, including New York, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, California, and Washington. By utilizing 13 Google accounts, they managed to submit approximately 900 claims. Additionally, the co-conspirators are accused of setting up four internet domain names, which were subsequently employed for fraudulent activities. This scheme involved the creation of around 800 distinct email addresses solely for the purpose of carrying out the fraudulent activities.
Lawal and Ambali are accused of submitting more than 2,300 fraudulent income tax returns with the intent to claim over $7.1 million in tax refunds. The IRS managed to identify and prevent the majority of these fraudulent claims, resulting in the disbursement of only approximately $30,000 in illegitimate refunds.
In addition to the tax fraud scheme, the two individuals allegedly engaged in a separate scheme involving the misuse of stolen American identities. Specifically, they reportedly attempted to exploit these identities to secure Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) through fraudulent means, aiming to deceive the Small Business Administration.
As per the indictment, the individuals involved in the conspiracy directed the ill-gotten gains from their fraudulent activities either onto prepaid cash cards or through intermediaries known as “money mules.” These intermediaries would then carry out fund transfers as directed by the main culprits. Additionally, it is alleged that they employed stolen identities to establish bank accounts, funneling the illicit funds directly into these accounts for personal benefit.
Lawal and Ambali face charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as ten instances of wire fraud and six cases of aggravated identity theft.
Presently, Lawal remains in Canada with extradition pending.
The charges related to conspiracy and wire fraud are severe, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to 30 years, as highlighted in the official statement.
Meanwhile, aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, which is to be served consecutively with any other prison time imposed in the case.
The statement emphasizes, “The charges outlined in the indictment are allegations and do not constitute guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
The investigative team in Western Washington received a lead on this case from the National Unemployment Fraud Task Force.
The FBI spearheaded the investigation, receiving support from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG). Collaborative contributions were also made by the Washington State Employment Security Division (ESD), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Handling the prosecution are Assistant United States Attorneys Cindy Chang and Seth Wilkinson of the Western District of Washington, with assistance from the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs.
On May 17, 2021, the U.S. Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force. This collaboration harnesses the Department of Justice’s resources in conjunction with various government agencies to strengthen the fight against pandemic-related fraud.
The Task Force’s primary focus is to investigate and prosecute the most significant domestic and international criminal actors, while also supporting relief program administrators in fraud prevention. It achieves this by enhancing existing coordination mechanisms, identifying fraudulent actors and their tactics, and leveraging insights gained from previous enforcement endeavors.
