FBI arrests Governor Abiodun's aide over N144 million wire fraud.
Abidemi Rufai, aka Sandy Tang, 42, was arrested on Friday, May 14, 2021 at the JFK Airport in New York on a criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud to the tune of $350,000 or over N144 million.
Rufai is a top aide on Special Duties to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun.
He was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to the governor in 2020. He has just been suspended by the governor.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman, Rufai perpetrated the scheme to steal over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department.
The statement from the U.S Department of Justice says Rufai resides in the Lekki area of Lagos, Nigeria.
The accused made his initial indictment appearance on Saturday May 15, 2021 in New York and is scheduled for a detention hearing on Wednesday.
“Since the first fraud reports to our office in April 2020, we have worked diligently with a federal law enforcement team to track down the criminals who stole funds designated for pandemic relief,” says Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “This is the first, but will not be the last, significant arrest in our ongoing investigation of ESD (Employment Security Department) fraud.”
The criminal complaint alleges that Rufai used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with ESD for pandemic-related unemployment benefits.
Rufai also filed fraudulent unemployment claims with Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania, according to the statement.
Sandy Tang used variations of a single e-mail address in a manner intended to evade automatic detection by fraud systems.
By using this practice, Rufai made it appear that each claim was connected with a different email account.
The Nigerian then caused the fraud proceeds to be paid out to online payment accounts such as ‘Green Dot’ accounts, or wired to bank accounts controlled by “money mules.”
Some of the proceeds were then mailed to the Jamaica, New York address of Rufai’s relative.
Law enforcement determined that more than $288,000 was deposited into an American bank account controlled by Rufai between March and August 2020.
FBI arrests Governor Abiodun's aide over N144 million wire fraud.
Abidemi Rufai, aka Sandy Tang, 42, was arrested on Friday, May 14, 2021 at the JFK Airport in New York on a criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud to the tune of $350,000 or over N144 million.
Rufai is a top aide on Special Duties to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun.
He was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to the governor in 2020. He has just been suspended by the governor.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman, Rufai perpetrated the scheme to steal over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department.
The statement from the U.S Department of Justice says Rufai resides in the Lekki area of Lagos, Nigeria.
The accused made his initial indictment appearance on Saturday May 15, 2021 in New York and is scheduled for a detention hearing on Wednesday.
“Since the first fraud reports to our office in April 2020, we have worked diligently with a federal law enforcement team to track down the criminals who stole funds designated for pandemic relief,” says Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “This is the first, but will not be the last, significant arrest in our ongoing investigation of ESD (Employment Security Department) fraud.”
The criminal complaint alleges that Rufai used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with ESD for pandemic-related unemployment benefits.
Rufai also filed fraudulent unemployment claims with Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania, according to the statement.
Sandy Tang used variations of a single e-mail address in a manner intended to evade automatic detection by fraud systems.
By using this practice, Rufai made it appear that each claim was connected with a different email account.
The Nigerian then caused the fraud proceeds to be paid out to online payment accounts such as ‘Green Dot’ accounts, or wired to bank accounts controlled by “money mules.”
Some of the proceeds were then mailed to the Jamaica, New York address of Rufai’s relative.
Law enforcement determined that more than $288,000 was deposited into an American bank account controlled by Rufai between March and August 2020.
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