New York Man Sentenced for $600,000 COVID Fraud Using Stolen Identities (Press Release, February 8, 2024)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia, dated February 8, 2024, announcing that Obinna Nwafor was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young to 42 months in prison, Case No. 4:23-cr-21. According to court documents, Nwafor obtained pandemic loans using the identities of others, including a Norfolk judge identified as L.H., whose report of an SBA statement led to the investigation. The release states that an EIDL application for $150,000 was submitted in L.H.'s name and $149,900 was disbursed to an account controlled by Nwafor, with a further $150,000 loan obtained in the name of K.G. It states that Nwafor also received approximately $300,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits in the names of at least eighteen other people.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

PRESS RELEASE



New York Man Sentenced for
$600,000 COVID Fraud Using
Stolen Identities
Thursday, February 8, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A New York man was sentenced yesterday to 42 months in prison
for his role in a fraudulent scheme to obtain pandemic benefits using the stolen identities
of at least 20 other people.

According to court documents, Obinna Nwafor, 50, engaged in a scheme to obtain various
pandemic loans using the identities of others who were unaware of this activity. In
September 2020, L.H., a resident of Norfolk who also serves as a judge on the Norfolk
Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, received a statement from the U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA) at her home address, indicating that she owed a payment
on a loan received under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL). L.H. reported
this information to law enforcement, which led to the investigation in this case.

Further investigation revealed that an application for an EIDL loan in the amount of
$150,000 had been submitted to the SBA in August 2020, using L.H.’s name and other
confidential personal identifiers, including her Social Security number, date of birth,
address, and phone number. Loan documents were electronically signed in L.H.’s name,
and loan proceeds in the amount of $149,900 were disbursed to an account that did not
belong to L.H and was controlled by Nwafor.

After this information came to light, further investigation revealed several related EIDL
loans fraudulently obtained by Nwafor, including a $150,000 loan obtained in Virginia
resident K.G.’s name. Like L.H., K.G.’s Social Security number, date of birth, address, and
phone number had been used on the loan application. Similarly, K.G. had not applied for
an EIDL loan or authorized anyone to apply for a loan on her behalf. Within days of the
loan proceeds disbursement, Nwafor moved the funds to other accounts he controlled,
including an account held jointly with his spouse, a bank account held in the name of a
Nigerian entity in which Nwafor held an interest, and nearly $75,000 to an account
belonging to a romance fraud victim, who had been misled as to the origin of the funds.

Further investigation also revealed that Nwafor had received approximately $300,000 in
pandemic-related unemployment benefits in the names of at least eighteen other people.
Those funds had been deposited into approximately six different bank accounts owned
and controlled by Nwafor. When Nwafor was told by Wells Fargo that these funds were
being returned to the originating state unemployment offices, Nwafor frantically worked
with other individuals in an attempt to convince the bank not to return the funds.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason S. Miyares, Attorney
General of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office;
Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington
Division; and Troy W. Springer, Special Agent in Charge, National Capital Region, U.S.
Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement after
sentencing by U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyson C. Yates and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Samuels
prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the
website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching
for Case No. 4:23-cr-21.

Contact
Press Officer
USAVAE.Press@usdoj.gov

Updated February 8, 2024

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

DISASTER FRAUD

FINANCIAL FRAUD

IDENTITY THEFT
Component
USAO - Virginia, Eastern


File and source

File

2024-02-09-New-York-Man-Sentenced-for-600-000-COVID-Fraud-Using-Stolen-Identities-USAO-ED-VA-02-08-2024.pdf

Size

332,682 bytes

SHA-256

eff8d3a3444a7391f01e56a52130bb79a90bc637902d3b2f558e8783fd9eb166

Our copy

2024-02-09-New-York-Man-Sentenced-for-600-000-COVID-Fraud-Using-Stolen-Identities-USAO-ED-VA-02-08-2024.pdf

Original

No public link identified.