Nigerian jailed in US over costly wire fraud scheme

Adepoju Salako wire fraud case ends in US prison sentence over fake Alaska dividend claims and related money laundering offences

A Nigerian man, Adepoju Salako, was sentenced in the United States on Tuesday to 18 months in prison for wire fraud linked to a fraudulent 2022 Permanent Fund Dividend scheme targeting residents in Alaska.

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According to a statement released on Friday by the United States Department of Justice, Salako, a 33-year-old resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, orchestrated a scheme to defraud the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Permanent Fund Dividend programme by using stolen personal information belonging to legitimate residents.

Court documents cited in the Adepoju Salako wire fraud case showed that the fraudulent activities occurred between January and February 2022.

Investigators said Salako illegally obtained personal identifying information belonging to Alaskan residents and used the details to submit seven fraudulent applications for dividend payments issued by the Alaska Department of Revenue.

Authorities further disclosed that Salako had never resided in Alaska and had not visited the state until he travelled there for sentencing proceedings.

“Salako obtained the personal identifying information for legitimate Alaskan residents and submitted seven separate applications to the Alaska DOR to obtain their PFD funds,” the Department of Justice stated.

The statement added that Salako created multiple email accounts under his control to facilitate the fraud and impersonate the victims during the application process.

Salako pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud. The prison term will run concurrently with an earlier sentence imposed in a related COVID-19 relief fund fraud and international money laundering case handled in the District of Colorado.

In the separate case, the Nigerian national received a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay approximately $2.5 million in restitution to victims affected by the crimes.

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The prosecution forms part of broader efforts by US authorities to combat identity theft, financial fraud and transnational cybercrime schemes targeting government relief and welfare programmes.

Victory Emmanuel