He was a special assistant to the governor of Nigeria’s Ogun State, advising on child poverty programs, when he was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in May 2021 on charges of wire fraud and identity theft, federal prosecutors said.
Rufai, 45, of Lekki, Nigeria, was accused of collecting the stolen identities of thousands of U.S. citizens and using many of them to apply for over $2.4 million in disaster relief aid for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Marketwatch. com Prosecutors said that Rufai managed to collect over $600,000 in government aid as a result of various frauds.
“Mr. Rufai was relentless in his scheme to use the stolen identities of Americans for fraud,” said Nick Brown, the U.S. Attorney for the western district of Washington State, where the case was brought. “When disaster struck, so did Mr. Rufai. Whether it was hurricane disaster relief, small business loans, or COVID unemployment benefits, he stole aid that should have gone to disaster victims in the United States.”
At Rufai’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle agreed, saying: “The motivation was greed, unrestrained greed, and a callousness towards those who have suffered.”
Investigators say that Rufai used the proceeds of his scams to purchase a $71,000 Mercedes Benz SUV in the United States, which he then shipped to Nigeria. When he was arrested, he was wearing a $10,000 watch and a $35,000 gold necklace, according to court papers.
Rufai, who has a masters degree in human relations management and ran a successful sports betting business in Nigeria, was a prolific political fundraiser who had run for office in his native country, prosecutors said. He was fired from his government job after his arrest.
In court documents, Rufai admitted running the scams, but said he had struggled with a gambling addiction and had suffered from the environment of corruption in his home country, which made him believe it was morally acceptable to commit such crimes.
“I am taking full responsibility for my stupid actions and I hope the people of this beautiful state will find it in their hearts to forgive me,” Rufai said in a hand-written letter to the judge asking for leniency.
According to court documents, authorities in Washington said they caught wind of the fraud in 2020 after being contacted by officials at the Seattle Fire Department, Microsoft Corp. Zulily.com, the City of Bellingham and the Seattle Yacht Club saying that some of their employees appeared to be receiving Covid-19 unemployment benefits despite them continuing to work.
An investigation revealed that all the applications tracked back to a single Google Gmail address, sandytangy58@gmail.com. According to court papers, Rufai had used numerous variations of the address, inserting periods between various letters. While Google disregards the periods and treats all such variations as the same address, many state unemployment systems would recognize them as being different, prosecutors said.
A subpoena of the email account revealed it had been used for a multitude of scams dating back to 2017, including the fraudulent application for FEMA disaster aid for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. An emergency back-up phone number attached to the account registered back to Nigeria, court papers said. The same phone number had been used in 2016 for a visa application for Rufai to visit the United States.
Rufai also used stolen identities to submit hundreds of phony tax refund claims, for which he received over $90,000, investigators said.
Prosecutor said that Rufai has agreed to pay full restitution of over $600,000 to the defrauded agencies but has not fully cooperated with efforts to recover the money.
Rufai, 45, of Lekki, Nigeria, was accused of collecting the stolen identities of thousands of U.S. citizens and using many of them to apply for over $2.4 million in disaster relief aid for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Marketwatch. com Prosecutors said that Rufai managed to collect over $600,000 in government aid as a result of various frauds.
“Mr. Rufai was relentless in his scheme to use the stolen identities of Americans for fraud,” said Nick Brown, the U.S. Attorney for the western district of Washington State, where the case was brought. “When disaster struck, so did Mr. Rufai. Whether it was hurricane disaster relief, small business loans, or COVID unemployment benefits, he stole aid that should have gone to disaster victims in the United States.”
At Rufai’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle agreed, saying: “The motivation was greed, unrestrained greed, and a callousness towards those who have suffered.”
Investigators say that Rufai used the proceeds of his scams to purchase a $71,000 Mercedes Benz SUV in the United States, which he then shipped to Nigeria. When he was arrested, he was wearing a $10,000 watch and a $35,000 gold necklace, according to court papers.
Rufai, who has a masters degree in human relations management and ran a successful sports betting business in Nigeria, was a prolific political fundraiser who had run for office in his native country, prosecutors said. He was fired from his government job after his arrest.
In court documents, Rufai admitted running the scams, but said he had struggled with a gambling addiction and had suffered from the environment of corruption in his home country, which made him believe it was morally acceptable to commit such crimes.
“I am taking full responsibility for my stupid actions and I hope the people of this beautiful state will find it in their hearts to forgive me,” Rufai said in a hand-written letter to the judge asking for leniency.
According to court documents, authorities in Washington said they caught wind of the fraud in 2020 after being contacted by officials at the Seattle Fire Department, Microsoft Corp. Zulily.com, the City of Bellingham and the Seattle Yacht Club saying that some of their employees appeared to be receiving Covid-19 unemployment benefits despite them continuing to work.
An investigation revealed that all the applications tracked back to a single Google Gmail address, sandytangy58@gmail.com. According to court papers, Rufai had used numerous variations of the address, inserting periods between various letters. While Google disregards the periods and treats all such variations as the same address, many state unemployment systems would recognize them as being different, prosecutors said.
A subpoena of the email account revealed it had been used for a multitude of scams dating back to 2017, including the fraudulent application for FEMA disaster aid for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. An emergency back-up phone number attached to the account registered back to Nigeria, court papers said. The same phone number had been used in 2016 for a visa application for Rufai to visit the United States.
Rufai also used stolen identities to submit hundreds of phony tax refund claims, for which he received over $90,000, investigators said.
Prosecutor said that Rufai has agreed to pay full restitution of over $600,000 to the defrauded agencies but has not fully cooperated with efforts to recover the money.
from Marketwatch
He must be very mad for dragging the whole of Nigeria into his mess.
ReplyDeleteRufai the greedy imp, I am angry you got just 5 years in prison.
Awon ti hushpuppy scammers.
Rufai, you're a born scammer. Go and serve your jail sentence.
ReplyDeleteI remember a song where kwam11 sang his praise. Abidemi omo rufai,now he don go chop beans. Hustle legitimately, you may not be stinky rich but at least you go get peace of mind,you no hear siren hide inside pit toilet,even if na ambulance sef
ReplyDeleteThis your comment is so funny
DeleteUnfortunately he is right... when the most corrupt are seeking the highest political offices with massive support from the people... what do you expect? These are how cultures are built and entrenched. God help our children.
ReplyDeleteHe's one out of a thousand laulau spending greedy Nigerian youths.
DeleteEgo onye ozo ji ari ha mma( they love eating other people's sweat).
This 5 years is painfully insufficient. Too small.
Them for give you 100years
ReplyDeleteVery greedy efulefu
Eleyi of ogun state must be proud of you
Rufai, it's not because of how corrupt your home country is that made you committed the crime, it's your greediness. Own up your shii with your full chest don't drag Nigeria into it. So because our leaders are corrupt all of us should venture into crimes yeah? See talk. Nonsense and ingredients. Ole olojukokoro
ReplyDeleteHmmmm.
ReplyDeleteWereh wan use naija disguise. He used so stupid.
ReplyDeleteThis one will continue from where he stops after jail time..
ReplyDeleteNa wa
ReplyDeleteGreedy and wicked person. Govt will think those aids where going to the right persons not knowing one thief is busy siphoning them
ReplyDeleteWhy do they always give them small jail term? And when a hungry kid steals food he gets a 50 year?
ReplyDeleteNobody gave a hungry kid 50 year sentence. There are sentencing guidelines that each state has and the Judges, have to follow those guidelines. If he were an official here, the Judge would make an exception and give him the maximum time. Manslaughter here is 2 years.
Delete"In court documents, Rufai admitted running the scams, but said he had struggled with a gambling addiction and had suffered from the environment of corruption in his home country, which made him believe it was morally acceptable to commit such crimes."
ReplyDeleteJust imagine how he robes the whole country with a garment of corruption.
These are the people that put a dent on the image of Nigerians before the international community.
Good for him
ReplyDeleteJust 5 years?
ReplyDeleteWhile I would refrain from commenting on his crime. I believe it is not Nigeria that change him , but his greed. This is someone who was born with sliver spoon but very wayward. He was my friend and classmate at Ijebu Muslim college, he is the son of late Alhaji Mayodele a multi-billionaire in Ijebu-Ode. He started by stealing his father's money, moved to Ansar-ud-deen school in Ijebu-Ode because of his wayward behavior. The money he is refunding is a chicken change compare to what he made from crime. He has been in the business for over a decade if not more.
ReplyDeleteHe should keep shut, serve his term and smile home with the majority of his proceed that has not been detected.
Thank you for speaking truth.
DeleteCrime no dey pay
ReplyDeleteSay no to fraud
Shebi he had a job,why do scam again?
ReplyDelete