MARYLAND — A Nigerian national, Temitope Bashua, 29, has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for his role in a scam involving unemployment insurance benefits and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced.
Bashua participated in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain CARES Act relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. From May 2020 through September 2022, he and his co-conspirators impersonated victims to submit false unemployment insurance claims in Maryland and California, using stolen personal information without consent.
In October 2020, the group submitted two fraudulent EIDL applications to the Small Business Administration using fictitious businesses and victims’ identities. As a result, Bashua received more than $290,000 in U.S. Treasury funds.
Authorities reported that Bashua also admitted involvement in other criminal schemes, including cyber intrusions, romance scams, and business email compromise fraud.
The District of Maryland Strike Force, established by the U.S. Department of Justice to tackle COVID-19 and CARES Act fraud, investigated and prosecuted Bashua and his co-conspirators, ensuring accountability for misuse of federal relief funds.
