A Nigerian man residing in Canada, Fatiu Ismaila Lawal, has been sentenced to 54 months in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after defrauding U.S. pandemic aid programs out of millions of dollars.
Lawal, 46, stole thousands of workers’ identities and submitted more than 1,700 fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment benefits across 25 states, including Washington. Although the total value of the claims exceeded $25 million, Lawal, along with his co-defendant Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, 46, successfully obtained approximately $2.7 million, primarily from unemployment benefits.
When Lawal pleaded guilty in September 2024, he admitted to personally submitting claims totaling $1,345,472, using over 800 different email addresses and four internet domain names. As part of his sentence, Lawal has been ordered to repay $1.3 million.
“This defendant made it his full-time job to defraud the U.S. for years before the pandemic, but he intensified his efforts when vital aid was being distributed,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman during Lawal’s sentencing. She explained that Lawal’s actions disrupted essential aid for workers during a critical time, including contributing to the suspension of unemployment payments in Washington state.
In addition to the fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits, Lawal also used stolen identities to file approximately 3,000 fraudulent tax returns seeking $7.5 million in refunds. The IRS only paid out $30,000 after suspecting the claims were fraudulent.
“The fraud disrupted the lives of those whose identities were stolen,” said Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office. “Each return filed represents an individual whose life was affected by Lawal’s actions.”
Prosecutors had recommended a 65-month sentence, emphasizing the damage done to the aid distribution process, which was already overwhelmed by fraudulent claims. The U.S. government estimates that total fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims may exceed $100 billion.
Co-defendant Ambali, also from Nigeria, was sentenced to 42 months in prison in March 2024 for his involvement in the scheme.
