A Nigerian national living in Maryland has pleaded guilty to his role in a multistate unemployment insurance fraud scheme that caused more than $415,000 in documented losses, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Akinpelumi Olawale Oyewusi, 60, of Hyattsville, Maryland, admitted to participating in a conspiracy that targeted state unemployment insurance systems between September 2020 and at least March 2021.
Federal prosecutors said Oyewusi and his co-conspirators used the personal information of real people to file fraudulent unemployment claims in Maryland and other states, including California.
The fraudulent applications allegedly contained victims’ genuine names and Social Security numbers but falsely represented their employment histories and eligibility for unemployment benefits.
Once claims were approved, the conspirators arranged for the money to be deposited onto bank-issued debit cards. The cards were sent to addresses in Maryland and elsewhere controlled or monitored by members of the group.
Oyewusi allegedly played a direct role in tracking and accessing the cards. Prosecutors said he received U.S. Postal Service mail alerts that enabled him to monitor the arrival of fraudulent unemployment benefit cards.
He also personally withdrew money from debit cards issued in the names of identity-theft victims and transferred some of the proceeds to other members of the conspiracy.
According to court documents, Oyewusi generally withdrew the maximum amount permitted from each card before returning to the same cards for additional withdrawals.
Between December 2020 and March 2021, at least 18 ATM photographs allegedly captured Oyewusi withdrawing a total of $18,000 from cards connected to six fraudulent unemployment claims.
Bank records showed that his withdrawals from the same debit cards amounted to approximately $69,000 over the course of the scheme.
Prosecutors said Oyewusi was directly responsible for at least $415,874.63 in actual losses and personally received at least $25,000 from his participation.
The scheme affected individual identity-theft victims, state agencies responsible for administering unemployment benefits and a financial institution that processed the fraudulent transactions.
The prosecution was announced by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside officials from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
The case is part of a broader federal effort to investigate fraud involving government benefit programmes.
Oyewusi is scheduled to be sentenced on December 3 at 2 p.m. A federal district judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Justice Department noted that the sentence imposed in federal cases can differ from the statutory maximum penalties. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Wenner is prosecuting the case.
