A Nigerian IT professional has been indicted on government wire fraud and identity theft charges, after authorities said he and his co-plotters documented bogus claims for pandemic-related employment benefits in 17 states.
Chukwuemeka Onyegbula, utilizing the name “Phillip Carter,” was connected to 253 fake filings for unemployment benefits, in respect of an indictment revealed Thursday in Seattle.
Onyegbula has been arrested in Nigeria; however prospects for his extradition to the U.S. were hazy. Onyegbula works for Pan Ocean Oil Corporation Nigeria Limited, as indicated by the Seattle U.S. Attorney’s Office. Court archives didn’t list a lawyer who may remark for his benefit.
Washington, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Nevada, Rhode Island, Texas and Wisconsin paid out an aggregate of almost $290,000 on claims identified with the case. Furthermore, the government small business administration paid out $54,000 in Coronavirus economic catastrophe claims documented by Onyegbula and his co-conspirators, investigators said.
Washington State was seriously misled by fake cases for pandemic-related benefits. It probably paid out more than $647 million in such deceitful cases; however $370 million was recovered, as indicated by state authorities.
Onyegbula is the second Nigerian national accused of such extortion in U.S. District Court for western Washington. Abidemi Rufai, 42, a suspended Nigerian government official, has been accused of filing $350,000 in deceitful cases in Washington and different states, with $288,000 found in a bank account he controlled. He likewise tried to bilk the Internal Revenue Service of almost $1.6 million, as per government examiners.
Rufai was arrested May 14 as he attempted to make a trip from New York to Nigeria. A government court in New York requested him released on bond pending trial, yet prosecutors in western Washington have been trying to ensure he remains in custody, saying he poses a severe flight risk, is familiar with fake identities, and that he’s probably never going to be extradited on the chance that he makes it back to Nigeria.
A hearing is set for Friday to decide if Rufai may be released pending trial. In a court filing Wednesday, assistant U.S. attorneys said that a recorded discussion among Rufai and his sibling uncovered that Rufai didn’t actually know a lady who had offered to act as his custodian should he be released.
The recorded discussion likewise proposed that Rufai had essentially more cash than he led the court to accept, examiners said.
In a reaction filed Thursday, one of Rufai’s lawyers, Michael C. Barrows, called the government’s perusing of the discussion “an absolute fabrication.”
The family friend who offered to act as custodian went to the dedication of Rufai’s child five years ago, Barrows said. Rufai frequently visited her when he headed out to New York, and nothing in the discussion — which transpired in English, Rufai’s subsequent language — could be perceived to mean he didn’t have any acquaintance with her, Barrows said.
Further, the remarks Rufai made about money referred to the way that he could raise assets for his bond from companions and allies — not that he had covered up resources, Barrows said.
