Nigerian Man Sentenced To 54 Months For Defrauding U.S. Pandemic Aid Schemes Of $1.3Million

A 46-year-old Nigerian man, Fatiu Ismaila Lawal, has been sentenced to 54 months in U.S. federal prison for defrauding American pandemic aid programs of more than $1 million, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

Lawal, along with his co-defendant Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, used stolen identities of over 14,000 workers to file more than 1,700 fraudulent unemployment claims across 25 states, including Washington, D.C.

The fraudulent claims sought approximately $25 million, with the conspirators successfully obtaining $2.7 million, primarily from pandemic unemployment benefits.

However, Lawal admitted to personally submitting claims totaling $1,345,472.

Lawal, who had been residing in Canada, was extradited to the U.S. in July 2024 and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in September.

During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright emphasized the scale and sophistication of the crime, stating, “This took advantage of programs designed to help people who were really struggling in an international emergency.”

“This defendant made it his full-time job to defraud the U.S. for years before the pandemic, but he kicked it into high gear once critical aid to Americans workers was flowing,” said U.S. Attorney Gorman.

“His fraud included using stolen identities of Washington residents to file dozens of unemployment claims in the first few weeks of the pandemic, contributing to the flood of fraudulent claims that caused the state to pause all unemployment payments. In this way his fraud harmed all Washingtonians who desperately needed assistance at the onset of the pandemic.”

According to records filed in the case, Lawal, and co-defendant Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, 46, used the stolen identities of thousands of workers to submit over 1,700 claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to over 25 different states, including Washington State.

In total, the claims sought approximately $25 million, but the conspirators obtained approximately $2.7 million, primarily from pandemic unemployment benefits. Lawal admits that he personally submitted claims for $1,345,472 using the stolen identities of 790 workers.

He submitted claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to New York, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, California, Washington and some 19 other states.

Lawal also established four internet domain names that were subsequently used for fraud – creating some 800 different email addresses that were used in this scheme.

Additionally, between 2018 and November 2022, Lawal used stolen personal information to submit 3,000 income tax returns for $7.5 million in refunds. The IRS detected the fraud and paid just $30,000.

Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office, said, “While Mr. Lawal may not have secured the $7.5 million he sought from fraudulent tax refunds, each of the 3,000 returns he filed represents a life he disrupted.”

Lawal and co-defendant Ambali also attempted to use the stolen American identities for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The pair submitted some 38 applications, but SBA caught most of the fraud and paid only $2,500.

However, Lawal and Ambali had the proceeds of their fraud sent to cash cards or to “money mules” who transferred the funds according to instructions given by the co-conspirators.

They also allegedly used stolen identities to open bank accounts and have the money deposited directly into those accounts for their uses.

Meanwhile, evidence gathered in the case shows that Lawal personally received a substantial portion of the criminal proceeds. Lawal was ordered to pay restitution of $1,345,472.

Co-defendant Ambali was sentenced to 42 months in prison in March 2024.

In asking for a 65-month prison sentence, the government argued, “During major disasters and nationwide emergencies, it is particularly important for the government to be able to disburse aid quickly to real victims to mitigate the impact of the crisis.

“The actual monetary loss to the government comes secondary to the fact that a real person or business behind each stolen identity had difficulty accessing assistance because a fraudulent claim was already paid in their identity.

“These difficulties were further compounded by the onslaught of fraudulent claims that clogged the infrastructure in place to distribute the aid. The estimated loss from these fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims is over $100 billion.”