U.S. Attorney's Office, Texas, Eastern, "Nigerian Sentenced for Federal Fraud Violations in the Eastern District of Texas" (Jan. 6, 2022)
Summary
Press release of January 6, 2022 from the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas, issued from Sherman, reporting that a 39-year-old Nigerian man was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,067,000 in restitution after pleading guilty on July 1, 2021 to passport fraud, false claim to U.S. citizenship, wire fraud and false statement to a financial institution. In June 2018 he gave false identifying information on a passport application and falsely claimed citizenship, falsified numerous Payment Protection Program loan applications and received more than $1 million in fraudulent PPP proceeds, and acted as a money mule in business email compromise schemes, receiving or attempting to receive more than $800,000. He was indicted on Nov. 13, 2020.
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“U.S. Attorney's Office, Texas, Eastern, ‘Nigerian Sentenced for Federal Fraud Violations in the Eastern District of Texas’ (Jan. 6, 2022).”
Original at www.justice.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-attorney-s-office-texas-eastern-nigerian-sentenced-for-federal-fra-209b1557b1/
, SHA-256 334550094bb484adb468a25a6404a260f7b9a4bc915f7a05c7302f9b4b46f8fa.Full text
SHERMAN, Texas – A Nigerian man has been sentenced to federal prison for fraud violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today. Shalom Olumide Ayotunde, 39, pleaded guilty on July 1, 2021, to passport fraud, false claim to U.S. citizenship, wire fraud, and false statement to a financial institution, and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III. Ayotunde was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,067,000. According to court documents, in June 2018, Ayotunde provided false identifying information in his application for a U.S. passport, and in doing so, also falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen. Ayotunde was also involved in falsifying information in connection with numerous applications for Payment Protection Program loans, and ultimately received more than $1 million in fraudulent PPP loan proceeds. Additionally, evidence showed that Ayotunde was part of a conspiracy to defraud companies through business email compromise schemes and acted as a money mule when he knowingly received and transferred proceeds of fraudulent activity. Evidence showed that Ayotunde received or attempted to receive more than $800,000 in stolen funds. A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Ayotunde with federal violations on Nov. 13, 2020. 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, among other methods, 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 at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim, and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed 10am-6pm Eastern Time, Monday-Friday. English, Spanish, and other languages are available. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State- Diplomatic Security Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Camelia Lopez. ###
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