U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, "Nigerian Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining $1.3 Million in COVID-19 Jobless and Disability Benefits" (July 10, 2025)
Summary
A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, dated July 10, 2025, reports that Abiola Femi Quadri was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for defrauding California and Nevada out of $1.3 million in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment and disability insurance benefits. It says the scheme used more than 100 fraudulent applications with stolen identities, and that the money went toward building a nightclub and mall in Nigeria. United States District Judge George H. Wu also ordered Quadri to pay $1,356,229 in restitution and a $35,000 fine. The release states that Quadri pleaded guilty on January 2 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and sent at least $500,000 abroad during the scheme.
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“U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, ‘Nigerian Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining $1.3 Million in COVID-19 Jobless and Disability Benefits’ (July 10, 2025).”
Original at www.justice.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-attorney-s-office-central-district-of-california-nigerian-man-sent-f1421f3b24/
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Press Release Nigerian Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining $1.3 Million in COVID-19 Jobless and Disability Benefits Thursday, July 10, 2025 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California LOS ANGELES – A Nigerian man living in the San Gabriel Valley was sentenced today to 135 months in federal prison for defrauding California and Nevada out of $1.3 million in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment and disability insurance benefits by submitting more than 100 fraudulent applications using stolen identities and using the money to build a nightclub and mall in Nigeria. Abiola Femi Quadri, 43, of Pasadena, was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu, who also ordered him to pay $1,356,229 in restitution and a $35,000 fine. Quadri is a Nigerian citizen who acquired permanent residency in the United States through what he described – according to court documents – as a “fake wedding” in messages to a woman who was not his wife, pleaded guilty on January 2 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Quadri withdrew the fraudulent unemployment and disability benefits at ATMs from 2021 until his arrest in September 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport, where he was scheduled to fly to Nigeria. Quadri sent at least $500,000 abroad during the scheme. He also paid for the construction of a 120-room resort hotel in Nigeria, the Oyins International, that includes a nightclub, a mall, and additional high-end amenities. Quadri failed to disclose his ownership of the hotel as required when completing his financial disclosure to the court. Investigators found on Quadri’s phone images of 17 counterfeit checks totaling more than $3.3 million, along with messages about negotiating the checks. Some of the checks were made payable to shell businesses held in the names of Quadri’s aliases. California paid Quadri to provide daycare services to developmentally disabled children through his Altadena-based business, Rock of Peace. When agents searched Quadri’s residence, they found the children’s misappropriated food-aid debit cards. The United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the California Employment Development Department Investigation Division investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Brown of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case. Contact Ciaran McEvoy Public Information Officer ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov (213) 894-4465 Updated November 7, 2025 Topics COVID-Related Fraud Financial Fraud Component USAO - California, Central Press Release Number: 25-185 Related Content Press Release Former Account Manager at Beverly Hills Business Management Firm Charged with Embezzling More Than $2 Million from Celebrity Client A former account manager at a high-end Beverly Hills business management and tax firm was charged today in an eight-count federal indictment with embezzling more than $2 million from one... May 6, 2026 Press Release Burbank Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Embezzling $1.8 Million in Money and Property Left to Elderly Victim A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison for embezzling approximately $1.8 million from an estate left to an elderly victim by the victim’s... May 4, 2026 Press Release Santa Clarita Valley Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing False Returns and Fraudulently Obtaining COVID Benefits A Santa Clarita Valley tax preparer pleaded guilty today to fraudulently including false information on federal income tax returns to get substantial refunds for his clients – and cause large... May 4, 2026
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