A federal court in the United States has sentenced three Nigerian men for defrauding the unemployment insurance system during the COVID-19 pandemic, stealing $520,910 intended for workers who lost jobs.
The convicts are Kamaldeen Karaole, 24, of Indianapolis; Stephen Olamigoke, 23, of Nigeria; and Johnson Omodusonu, 24, of Indianapolis. Karaole received four years and three months in prison with two years of supervised release. Olamigoke was sentenced to two and a half years and Omodusonu to two years, each followed by supervised release. All were ordered to repay $520,910.
According to court documents, between August and October 2020, the trio conspired with accomplices abroad to steal 168 unemployment debit cards and PINs issued by California, Arizona, and Nevada. Fraudulent claims were filed using stolen identities, and the benefits were withdrawn via 529 ATM transactions, often within minutes of each other.
U.S. authorities condemned the fraud. U.S. Attorney Tom Wheeler described the act as “heartless and criminal,” while officials from the Department of Labor, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and FBI emphasized the collaborative effort to safeguard public funds.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Miller and sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon.
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