A U.S.-based Nigerian was sentenced to 2.5 years for fraud involving $290,000 in unemployment benefits and EIDL loans

A United States-based Nigerian, Temitope Bashua, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on 21 November for his role in a $290,000 fraud scheme, U.S. authorities said. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher also imposed two years of supervised release following Bashua’s plea agreement.

Also read: NDLEA bust Lagos uncovers N6.7bn cartel cache

The Department of Justice stated that Bashua participated in a “conspiracy and scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.”

He admitted involvement in other schemes, including cyber intrusion, romance fraud, and business email compromise fraud.

Court documents show that in October 2020, Bashua and co-conspirators submitted two fraudulent EIDL applications to the Small Business Administration for fictitious businesses using the personal information of unsuspecting victims. As a result, Bashua received over $290,000.

From May 2020 through September 2022, Bashua and associates allegedly impersonated victims to obtain money by submitting fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in Maryland and California.

The co-conspirators used personally identifiable information without the victims’ knowledge or consent.

This sentence follows other convictions involving Nigerians in the diaspora.

Also read: NDLEA bust Lagos uncovers N6.7bn cartel cache

In August, Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, received a five-year prison term in the U.S. for his role in a multimillion-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.