The second of two Nigerian men residing in Canada who defrauded pandemic aid programs of millions was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 54 months in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.
Fatiu Ismaila Lawal, 46, was extradited from Canada last July and pleaded guilty in September 2024. At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright said the crime required substantial planning. “This took advantage of programs designed to help people who were really struggling in an international emergency,” Judge Cartwright said.
“This defendant made it his full-time job to defraud the U.S. for years before the pandemic, but he kicked it into high gear once critical aid to American workers was flowing,” said Gorman.
“His fraud included using stolen identities of Washington residents to file dozens of unemployment claims in the first few weeks of the pandemic, contributing to the flood of fraudulent claims that caused the state to pause all unemployment payments,” Gorman added. “In this way, his fraud harmed all Washingtonians who desperately needed assistance at the onset of the pandemic.”
According to records filed in the case, Lawal and codefendant Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, 46, used the stolen identities of thousands of workers to submit over 1,700 claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to over 25 different states, including Washington State.
The claims sought approximately $25 million, but the conspirators obtained approximately $2.7 million, primarily from pandemic unemployment benefits. Lawal admits that he personally submitted claims for $1,345,472.
Lawal personally submitted at least 790 unemployment claims using the stolen identities of 790 workers. He submitted claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to New York, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, California, Washington and some 19 other states.
Lawal also established four internet domain names that were subsequently used for fraud, creating 800 different email addresses used in this scheme.
Additionally, between 2018 and November 2022, Lawal used stolen personal information to submit 3,000 income tax returns for $7.5 million in refunds. The IRS detected the fraud and paid just $30,000.
“While Mr. Lawal may not have secured the $7.5 million he sought from fraudulent tax refunds, each of the 3,000 returns he filed represents a life he disrupted,” said Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office.
Lawal and co-defendant Ambali also attempted to use the stolen American identities for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA). The pair submitted some 38 applications, but SBA caught most of the fraud and paid only $2,500.
Lawal and Ambali had the proceeds of their fraud sent to cash cards or to “money mules” who transferred the funds according to instructions given by the co-conspirators. They also allegedly used stolen identities to open bank accounts and have the money deposited directly into those accounts for their use.
Evidence gathered in the case shows that Lawal personally received a substantial portion of the criminal proceeds. Lawal was ordered to pay restitution of $1,345,472.
Co-defendant Ambali was sentenced to 42 months in prison in March 2024.
In asking for a 65-month prison sentence, the government argued that during major disasters and nationwide emergencies, “it is particularly important for the government to be able to disburse aid quickly to real victims to mitigate the impact of the crisis.”
The estimated loss from these fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims is over $100 billion.
The National Unemployment Fraud Task Force provided a lead on this case to the investigative team in Western Washington. The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Washington State Employment Security Division, and the Small Business Administration also contributed to the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cindy Chang of the Western District of Washington. DOJ’s Office of International Affairs assisted with extradition on this matter.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud related to COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
