U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Metro Atlanta man sentenced for money laundering conspiracy involving COVID fraud proceeds (USAO ND-GA 06/14/2023) (2023-06-15)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia, dated June 14, 2023, announcing the sentencing of Oluwagbemiga Otufale, 45, of Atlanta, Georgia, for money laundering conspiracy. According to the release, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May sentenced Otufale to seven years in prison, three years of supervised release and restitution of $498,450. The release states that Otufale laundered approximately $2.6 million in fraud proceeds through at least six bank accounts, mostly from fraudulent unemployment claims filed in states including Washington, Illinois and Massachusetts with stolen information of more than 50 individuals. It also describes laundering of proceeds from a business email compromise scheme targeting two Georgia businesses. Otufale was convicted on December 7, 2022, after pleading guilty.

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PRESS RELEASE



Metro Atlanta man sentenced for
money laundering conspiracy
involving COVID fraud proceeds
Wednesday, June 14, 2023

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA - Oluwagbemiga Otufale has been sentenced for money laundering
conspiracy involving fraudulent proceeds of multiple fraud schemes.

“Otufale attempted to take advantage of our country during a time of unprecedented
crisis for the most vulnerable in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our
office is committed to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to identify and
prosecute individuals involved in COVID-19 relief fraud and those who launder the
proceeds of that criminal activity.”

“So many individuals needed federal emergency assistance to stay afloat during the
pandemic, and Otufale laundered millions of dollars of that assistance money, allowing
fraudsters to enjoy their ill-gotten gains and lining his own pockets,” said Keri Farley,
Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “His greed affects every American taxpayer, and
the FBI will continue to hold accountable those who abused tax payer dollars and
diverted them from citizens who desperately needed them.”

“Oluwagbemiga Otufale used fraudulent passports and other identity documents to
open numerous bank accounts in the names of various shell companies. Otufale used
the accounts to launder more than $2.6 million in illicit funds. Most of the laundered
funds were the proceeds of fraudulent unemployment claims that were filed in multiple
states, including Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington. These fraudulent claims were
filed using the personal identifiable information of unwitting individuals. We will
continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the unemployment
insurance system from those who seek to exploit the system,” said Mathew Broadhurst,
Special Agent-in-Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of
Inspector General.
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in
court: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act created a
temporary federal program that provided up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits for
those unemployed as a result of the pandemic and included a provision to provide
temporary benefits to individuals who had exhausted their entitlement to regular
benefits or were otherwise not eligible. That temporary federal program was
administered by state employment agencies.

Otufale laundered money procured from fraudulent unemployment claims submitted to
numerous state employment agencies, including those in the states of Washington,
Illinois, and Massachusetts. These claims were filed using stolen personally identifiable
information of more than 50 individuals. Otufale also laundered proceeds from a
business email compromise scheme targeting two Georgia businesses.

Otufale created multiple aliases and sham business entities to open financial accounts in
which he deposited the fraudulent proceeds and withdrew cash. In total, Otufale
laundered approximately $2.6 million in fraud proceeds through at least six bank
accounts.

Oluwagbemiga Otufale, also known as “Joseph Perrone,” “Kelvin Benjamin,” and
“Abraham Young,” 45, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh
Martin May to seven years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release
and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $498,450. Otufale was convicted of the
charge of money laundering conspiracy on December 7, 2022, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department
of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Klapman and Tracia King prosecuted the case.

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.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office
at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-
ndga.

Updated June 14, 2023

Topic
CORONAVIRUS
Component
USAO - Georgia, Northern


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