A United States District Court has sentenced a Nigerian man, Adepoju Babtunde Salako, to 78 months in federal prison for his role in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
This is according to a statement published on the website of the United States Department of Justice.
Salako, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
According to the plea agreement, Salako participated in a scheme that fraudulently obtained more than $5 million from COVID-19 relief programs, including PPP, EIDL, and multiple state unemployment benefits.
As part of the plea agreement, he also agreed to plead guilty to seven additional counts of wire fraud in the District of Alaska.
The court also ordered him to pay $2,581,002.50 in restitution to victims of the fraud.
United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, Peter McNeilly, said the sentence demonstrates the government’s commitment to prosecuting financial crimes.
Amanda Prestegard, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office, described Salako as a key figure in the operation.
United States District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney presided over the sentencing, while Assistant United States Attorney Craig Fansler handled the prosecution.
The Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program were launched by the U.S. government during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide financial support to businesses and individuals affected by the economic shutdown.
In another case, three Nigerian nationals also pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court for laundering over $4.5 million in fraud proceeds linked to romance scams and business email compromise schemes that targeted more than 125 victims.