Akinpelumi Olawale Oyewusi, a 60-year-old Nigerian national living in Hyattsville, Maryland, has pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court over his role in a multistate unemployment insurance fraud scheme that exploited the identities of unsuspecting Americans.
According to details contained in his guilty plea, the scheme operated from around September 2020 through at least March 2021 and targeted unemployment insurance systems in Maryland and other states.
Oyewusi and other members of the conspiracy allegedly used the personal information of real individuals to submit fraudulent unemployment claims to state workforce agencies. The claims reportedly contained legitimate names and Social Security numbers but included false information about the victims’ employment and unemployment status.
Authorities identified the Maryland Department of Labor and California’s Employment Development Department among the agencies affected by the scheme.
After fraudulent claims were approved, the conspirators arranged for unemployment benefits to be loaded onto bank-issued debit cards. The cards were then sent to addresses controlled or monitored by members of the group.
Oyewusi allegedly played a direct role in obtaining and withdrawing the stolen funds. He received postal-service mail notifications that enabled him to track the delivery of the fraudulently issued debit cards and personally made ATM withdrawals using cards issued in the names of victims.
Court documents cited in the case indicate that at least 18 ATM photographs captured Oyewusi withdrawing approximately $18,000 from cards associated with six fraudulent unemployment claims between December 2020 and March 2021.
Bank records further indicated that he withdrew roughly $69,000 from the same debit cards during the broader period covered by the investigation.
Prosecutors said Oyewusi was directly connected to at least $415,874.63 in actual losses resulting from the scheme and personally received at least $25,000 in proceeds.
The fraud allegedly harmed several groups, including individuals whose identities were stolen, state agencies responsible for administering unemployment benefits, and a financial institution involved in processing the transactions.
Oyewusi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. His sentencing is scheduled for December 3 at 2 p.m., when a federal court will determine the punishment arising from his participation in the scheme.
The case highlights how unemployment benefit programs became targets for organized identity theft and financial fraud during the period surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, when state agencies processed unprecedented volumes of unemployment claims.
