Nigerian Pandemic Fraud Suspect Walked Free for Years – Arrested on Arrival in the U.S. After Applying for Visa in 2024

Four years after the world was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic, the fallout from the emergency relief programs continues to make headlines, now with a Nigerian national at the center of a significant fraud case. Yomi Jones “Sabbie” Olayeye, a 40-year-old Nigerian citizen, has been accused of attempting to defraud the United States government of $10 million in unemployment benefits, as well as receiving $1.5 million in pandemic relief payments. This was disclosed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts in an August 19 press release.

Arrested Upon Arrival in New York

Olayeye was apprehended by Secret Service agents on August 13, upon his arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The arrest marked the beginning of a series of legal proceedings that would see him transferred from the Eastern District of New York to the District of Massachusetts for further court actions.

Olayeye, alongside another unnamed Nigerian national, was indicted in September 2020 on multiple charges, including one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. The charges are related to fraudulent activities involving the U.S. pandemic relief programs, including the Unemployment Assistance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) administered by various state unemployment departments across the U.S.

According to prosecutors, between March and July 2020, Olayeye and his co-conspirator allegedly orchestrated a scheme to submit false claims for pandemic relief to unemployment departments in Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, Maine, Ohio, and Washington. To execute their scheme, the conspirators reportedly used personally identifiable information (PII) that they purchased from criminal internet forums. This information enabled them to pose as eligible state residents, allowing them to apply for unemployment benefits and other forms of pandemic relief.

The fraudulent operation extended to setting up bank accounts and prepaid debit cards to receive the illicit payments. The indictment further alleges that Olayeye and his co-conspirator engaged individuals in the U.S., whom they referred to as “clients,” to receive these payments into their bank accounts and subsequently wire the funds to Nigeria. To conceal their activities and distance themselves from Nigeria, the conspirators rented server space in the U.S. for filing the fraudulent claims.

On August 14, in a letter to the U.S. magistrate in Brooklyn, the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that Olayeye’s co-defendant remains at large. The letter also highlighted concerns over Olayeye’s reliability and potential flight risk, noting that he had previously lied on his visa application. He had falsely stated on his current visa application that he had never been denied a U.S. visa, despite having been refused one in 2017. This lack of candor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office argued, undermined any suggestion that Olayeye would comply with supervision conditions if released on bail.

In an August 14 letter to the court, Eastern New York U.S. Attorney Breon Peace pointed out that Olayeye had never set foot in the U.S. until his arrival on August 13, when he was promptly arrested. Furthermore, Peace noted that Olayeye’s wife and children had already arrived in the U.S. in April, with his wife currently holding temporary employment with a human services agency.

“The evidence against the defendant is also particularly compelling,” Peace wrote. “The government intends to prove the defendant’s guilt at trial using, among other things, the contents of his own email and other social media accounts, which establish both his connections to his co-defendant and his control of significant quantities of PII tied to pandemic and other species of fraud.”

On August 20, a federal judge in Brooklyn ordered that Olayeye be transferred to the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where he will remain while his case is adjudicated in Boston.

Potential Penalties: Facing Decades Behind Bars

The charges against Olayeye carry severe potential penalties. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud and conspiracy, both of which carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release. Additionally, the court could impose substantial fines, require forfeiture of any ill-gotten gains, and mandate restitution to the government.

The aggravated identity theft charge has a mandatory minimum sentence of two years, which would be added to any sentence for the wire fraud charges. On August 26, U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley took under advisement the decision of whether Olayeye would remain in custody.

Olayeye’s case is part of a wider effort by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to tackle fraud related to COVID-19 relief programs. The case is being pursued under the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established by the U.S. Attorney General in May 2021 to prevent and combat pandemic-related fraud. The task force collaborates with various federal agencies to investigate and prosecute individuals and entities suspected of misusing relief funds.

For more information on the DOJ’s response to pandemic-related fraud, individuals can visit the DOJ’s COVID-19 fraud response page and its Combating Fraud page. The DOJ also encourages anyone with information about potential fraud to report it via its National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) website.

Presumed Innocent Until Proven Guilty

It is important to note that all the information contained in the indictment and other court documents are allegations. Olayeye, like all defendants, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The U.S. legal system upholds the principle that every individual is entitled to a fair trial, where the burden of proof rests with the prosecution.

As the legal proceedings against Yomi Jones “Sabbie” Olayeye unfold, this case will continue to draw attention, highlighting the ongoing battle against fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to bring perpetrators to justice.