A Nigerian citizen, Temitope Bashua, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release for his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher.
The announcement was made by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside officials from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore, and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.
According to court documents and Bashua’s plea agreement, from May 2020 through September 2022, Bashua conspired with others to submit fraudulent unemployment insurance claims using stolen personal information in both Maryland and California. In October 2020, co-conspirators submitted two fraudulent EIDL applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) using identities of victims who were unaware their information was being used. As a result, Bashua received over $290,000 in funds from the SBA intended for economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bashua also admitted involvement in other schemes including cyber intrusion, romance fraud, and business email compromise schemes.
The case is part of an effort led by one of five strike forces established nationwide by the U.S. Department of Justice focused on investigating large-scale COVID-19 relief fraud involving criminal organizations and transnational actors. These teams use data analysis to identify those who have stolen pandemic relief funds.
“The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — a federal law enacted in March 2020 — provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the release. “Established by the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program — administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA) — along with the EIDL helped businesses meet their financial obligations.”
U.S. Attorney Hayes thanked investigators from DOL-OIG, HSI Baltimore, DHS-OIG as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Motsay and Bijon Mostoufi for prosecuting this case.
For more details on efforts related to pandemic response or reporting suspected fraud related to COVID-19 relief programs visit justice.gov/coronavirus or contact authorities at justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
