A 60-year-old Nigerian national, Akinpelumi Olawale Oyewusi, has pleaded guilty in a United States federal court to charges arising from his involvement in a nationwide unemployment insurance fraud scheme.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Oyewusi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The case is part of the US administration’s broader effort to combat fraud involving government programmes.
Prosecutors said Oyewusi and his co-conspirators operated the scheme between September 2020 and at least March 2021, targeting state workforce agencies, including the Maryland Department of Labor and California Employment Development Department.
The group allegedly used the personal information of real people to submit fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. The applications reportedly contained genuine names and Social Security numbers belonging to victims but included false information about their employment status and work history.
Authorities said fraudulent claims resulted in unemployment benefits being loaded onto bank-issued debit cards connected to accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy. The cards were reportedly mailed to addresses in Maryland and other locations.
Oyewusi allegedly helped access and distribute the funds after receiving alerts from the US Postal Service that allowed him to track the delivery of the fraudulent debit cards.
Investigators said he personally withdrew thousands of dollars from cards issued in victims’ names. Between December 2020 and March 2021, photographs from at least 18 ATM transactions allegedly captured Oyewusi withdrawing about $18,000 from cards connected to six fraudulent claims.
Bank records also showed that he withdrew approximately $69,000 from the fraudulent unemployment insurance debit cards during the scheme.
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