Nigerian sentenced in US for $5m COVID-19 relief fraud
A United States District Court has sentenced Adepoju Babatunde Salako to six and a half years in prison for his involvement in a $5 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. Salako, 34, who lives in Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. He was also ordered to pay over $2.5 million in restitution to the victims. Authorities say he participated in complex fraud schemes exploiting pandemic relief programs.
What happened
- Adepoju Babatunde Salako was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
- He agreed to plead guilty to seven additional counts of wire fraud in the District of Alaska.
- The court ordered Salako to pay $2,581,002.50 in restitution to victims.
- He and two accomplices used stolen identities to fraudulently obtain loans and unemployment benefits from various COVID-19 relief programs.
- Authorities emphasized that the sentence serves as a warning to others who might consider exploiting government resources.
