A U.S. District Court has sentenced 43-year-old Nigerian national, Abiola Femi Quadri, to 11 years and three months in federal prison for orchestrating a $1.3 million COVID-19 benefits fr@ud targeting California and Nevada.
Quadri, who lived in Pasadena, California, was sentenced on Thursday by Judge George H. Wu. Along with the prison term, he was ordered to pay $1,356,229 in restitution and a $35,000 fine.
According to court documents, Quadri filed over 100 fr@udulent claims for pandemic unemployment and disability benefits using stolen identities. He used part of the proceeds to build a luxury hotel and shopping mall in Nigeria, known as Oyins International—a 120-room facility with a nightclub and other high-end features. Investigators said he wired at least $500,000 abroad to fund the project.
Quadri, a U.S. green card holder through what he privately admitted was a “f@ke wedding,” pleaded guilty on January 2, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fr@ud. His fr@udulent operations ran from 2021 to 2024, ending with his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport in September 2024 while attempting to flee to Nigeria.
Authorities also discovered that he failed to disclose the Nigerian hotel in financial declarations submitted to the court. A search of his home revealed misappropriated food-aid debit cards meant for developmentally disabled children, linked to his Altadena-based daycare business, Rock of Peace.
Digital evidence found on his phone included 17 f@ke checks totaling over $3.3 million and conversations about how to cash them. Some checks were issued to shell companies tied to aliases he used.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the California Employment Development Department’s Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Brown prosecuted the case.
Quadri’s conviction adds to the growing number of Nigerians convicted abroad for fr@ud-related offenses, sparking renewed calls for stronger cross-border efforts to tackle cyber and economic crimes.
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