A U.S. grand jury has charged Nigerian-born engineer Banjo Popoola, a building inspector in St. Louis, Missouri, over an alleged $4.7 million contract fr@ud involving companies tied to his wife and sister.
Prosecutors said he exploited his role by awarding contracts to the firms and receiving kickbacks, with funds traced to personal expenses including a lavish Hawaii wedding for his second wife, cars, gambling, and housing.
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Between 2021 and 2024, he allegedly directed over $4.7 million in contracts to the companies and personally gained more than $1.6 million, sometimes cashing cheques himself. He was also accused of certifying projects that were not completed or never executed.
“One and more of the rehabilitation and stabilisation projects under both the Stable Communities STL and the Prop NS programmes, Farst failed to perform the rehabilitation and stabilisation work as contracted, but Popoola falsely certified to the City’s Comptroller that the work had been performed completely and properly,” the indictment stated.
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Despite declaring no ties to the contracts in official filings, authorities said his claims were false. “These certifications were false, based upon Popoola’s various ongoing interests in Farst and Premier. Popoola was well aware of these false certifications,” the filing added.
He faces three counts of wire fr@ud, with prosecutors seeking to recover at least $1.6 million.
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