Abidemi Rufai, a Lekki big boy and governor Dapo Abiodun’s suspended aide, has pleaded guilty to wire fr@ud and aggravated identity theft, in the U.S.
The 45-year-old who was arrested at the New York’s JFK airport on May 14, 2021, pleaded guilty at a District Court in Tacoma, AP News reports.
Rufai admitted to using stolen identities to receive more than $350,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits from Washington state.
He also admitted earlier fr@uds: Since 2017, he had obtained identifying information for more than 20,000 Americans, submitted $2 million in claims for dis@ster relief and other federal benefits, and received more than $600,000, prosecutors said.
He also submitted fr@udulent pandemic unemployment claims in at least 17 other states, among others.
Rufai faces up to 32 years in prison for wire fr@ud related to a presidentially declared dis@ster and aggravated identity theft. He also agreed to pay restitution to the agencies he defr@uded, though his ability to do that remained unclear.
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