One of two Nigerian citizens who defrauded U.S. Pandemic programs of more than $1 million pleads guilty

Summary

A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington, dated Monday, December 18, 2023, announcing that Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, a Nigerian citizen who resided in Canada, pleaded guilty in Tacoma to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft over pandemic unemployment benefit claims. In the plea agreement Ambali admits that Ambali and codefendant Fatiu Ismaila Lawal submitted over 1,700 claims to over 25 different states, which sought approximately $25 million and obtained approximately $2.4 million. Ambali admits personally submitting at least 620 claims that paid more than $1 million, and has agreed to make restitution of $1,035,107. Prosecutors will recommend five years in prison at sentencing before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan on March 14, 2024.

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PRESS RELEASE



One of two Nigerian citizens who
defrauded U.S. Pandemic programs
of more than $1 million pleads
guilty
Monday, December 18, 2023


For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington


Defendant has been in custody since February 2023 when he was
detained in Frankfurt, Germany while traveling home to his
residence in Canada

Tacoma – One of two Nigerian citizens who resided in Canada, pleaded guilty today in
U.S. District Court in Tacoma to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for defrauding
pandemic unemployment benefit programs in multiple states, announced Acting U.S.
Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, 45, was arrested in February 2023,
in Frankfurt, Germany, as he traveled back to Canada from Nigeria. Ambali was detained
in Germany and was extradited to the U.S. last August. Prosecutors will recommend a
sentence of five years in prison when Ambali is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert J.
Bryan on March 14, 2024.

In his plea agreement Ambali admits he and codefendant Fatiu Ismaila Lawal, 45, used
the stolen identities of thousands of workers to submit over 1,700 claims for pandemic
unemployment benefits to over 25 different states, including Washington State. In total,
the claims sought approximately $25 million, but the conspirators obtained
approximately $2.4 million, primarily from pandemic unemployment benefits. As part of
his plea agreement Ambali has agreed to make restitution of $1,035,107.

The co-conspirators allegedly submitted claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to
New York, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, California, Washington and some 19 other
states. Using 13 Google accounts, they filed some 900 claims. The co-conspirators also
allegedly established four internet domain names that they then used for fraud –
creating some 800 different email addresses that were used for fraud. Between March
2020 and December 2021, Ambali admits he personally submitted at least 620 claims for
unemployment benefits that paid more than $1 million.

Additionally, between 2018 and 2021, Ambali used stolen personal information of eight
U.S. citizens to try to claim tax refunds totaling more than $40,000. The IRS caught most
of the fraud.

Ambali also attempted to use the stolen American identities for Economic Injury Disaster
Loans (EIDL) to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA caught most
of the fraud and paid only $2,500.

Ambali and his co-conspirators had the proceeds of their fraud sent to cash cards or to
“money mules” who transferred the funds according to instructions given by the co-
conspirators. They also allegedly used stolen identities to open bank accounts and have
the money deposited directly into those accounts for their use.

Lawal was arrested in Canada in February and is pending extradition.

The National Unemployment Fraud Task Force provided a lead on this case to the
investigative team in Western Washington. The case was investigated by the FBI with
assistance from U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Department of Labor
Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG). Also contributing to the investigation were
Washington State Employment Security Division (ESD), the Internal Revenue Service
Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cindy Chang of the
Western District of Washington. DOJ’s Office of International Affairs is assisting.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement
Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with
agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-
related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most
culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with
administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating
existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover
fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and
insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the
department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can
report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud
(NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-
fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Contact
Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Communications Director Emily Langlie at
(206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov.

Updated December 18, 2023

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

CYBERCRIME

DISASTER FRAUD

FINANCIAL FRAUD


Component
USAO - Washington, Western


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