Case docket
United States v. Fatiu Ismaila Lawal — U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.
United States v. Lawal (WAWD 318629) — 3 court filings in the archive from U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, filed between September 12, 2024 and January 28, 2025. Among them: 1 plea agreement, 1 sentencing memorandum and 1 judgment.
Case facts
| Caption | United States v. Lawal |
|---|---|
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington |
| Docket number | 3:23-cr-05034 |
| Filings | 3 public filings |
| Filed | 2024-09-12 – 2025-01-28 |
| Document types | plea agreement (1), sentencing memorandum (1), judgment (1) |
| Original PDFs | 3 of 3 |
Case summary
Fatiu Ismaila Lawal was prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma, No. CR23-5034 (3:23-cr-05034). The United States' sentencing memorandum, filed January 21, 2025, states that Lawal pleaded guilty to counts 3, wire fraud, and 16, aggravated identity theft, and that he and co-conspirator Sakiru Ambali had stolen the personal identifying information of more than 14,700 Americans and used it to submit more than 1,700 fraudulent claims for COVID-19 unemployment benefits in at least 27 states and fraudulent applications for small business assistance. The government recommended 41 months on count 3 consecutive to the mandatory 24 months on count 16, a total of 65 months, and restitution of $1,345,472 as agreed in the plea agreement.
Case at a glance
| Defendant(s) | Fatiu Ismaila Lawal; the memorandum names Sakiru Ambali as co-conspirator and co-defendant |
|---|---|
| Court and docket | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma, No. 3:23-cr-05034 (captioned CR23-5034-TMC-01 and CR23-5034-RJB-01 in different filings), Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright |
| Program | COVID-19 unemployment benefits; the memorandum also describes fraudulent applications for small business assistance and fraudulent U.S. tax refund claims |
| Charges | Count 3, wire fraud; count 16, aggravated identity theft, carrying a mandatory 24-month term |
| Outcome and sentence | Pleaded guilty to counts 3 and 16, per the government's sentencing memorandum; plea agreement filed September 12, 2024. A judgment was entered January 28, 2025 but its extracted text is 439 characters of page footers, so the sentence imposed cannot be read from the page |
| Counts of conviction | Pleaded guilty to counts 3 and 16 of the indictment: wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, count 3; aggravated identity theft, 18 U.S.C. § 1028A, count 16; offense ended 02/22/2023; counts 1, 2, 4-15 and 17 dismissed on motion of the United States (judgment of January 28, 2025, p. 1) |
| Sentence imposed | 54 months' imprisonment: 30 months on count 3 and 24 months on count 16 (p. 2); three years of supervised release (p. 3) |
| Restitution | $1,345,472, ordered pursuant to the plea agreement, to the U.S. Department of Labor (printed $1,345,472, hand-corrected to $1,315,472) and the Internal Revenue Service ($30,000, handwritten), each at 100%; interest waived (p. 6) |
| Fine and assessment | Fine waived; special assessment $200 (p. 6) |
| Forfeiture | The judgment's forfeiture line is unchecked and blank (p. 7) |
| Status checked | 2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read |
What did the government recommend?
Forty-one months on the wire fraud count, consecutive to the mandatory 24-month term on the aggravated identity theft count, for 65 months in total, plus restitution of $1,345,472 and a special condition barring re-entry after deportation without permission from the Department of Homeland Security.
What does the memorandum say about the scheme?
That Lawal and Sakiru Ambali had stolen the identifying information of more than 14,700 Americans, and that from the onset of the pandemic in 2020 they submitted more than 1,700 fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment claims in at least 27 states. It states Lawal personally participated in the submission of more than 3,791 fraudulent claims for government funds.
Is the sentence on the page?
No. The judgment of January 28, 2025 has no extractable text. The memorandum contains one sentence, printed after a passage about Ambali, reading that on March 14, 2024 Judge Robert J. Bryan "sentenced Lawal to a total of 42 months of incarceration"; which defendant it refers to is not clear from the document.
Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.
Filings
3 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.
- Plea Agreement as to Fatiu Ismaila Lawal (cc: Uspo, Flu, Afu) — United States v. Lawal (Dkt. 60, W.D. Wash. No. 3:23-cr-05034)Plea agreement · PDF
- Sentencing Memorandum by USA as to Fatiu Ismaila Lawal — United States v. Lawal (Dkt. 70, W.D. Wash. No. 3:23-cr-05034)Sentencing memorandum · PDF
- Judgment as to Fatiu Ismaila Lawal — United States v. Lawal (Dkt. 73, W.D. Wash. No. 3:23-cr-05034)Judgment · PDF
Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.