Abidemi Rufai, Top Aide Of Ogun Gov, Abiodun, Arrested In US Over ₦312b Job Fraud

• Rufai was appointed by the Ogun state governor in August 2020.

The federal bureau of investigation (FBI) in the United States has apprehended Abidemi Rufai, a senior special assistant to Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun, over his involvement in a $650 million (N312 billion) employment fraud.

Rufai, who’s known to be a staunch ally and longtime associate of governor Abiodun, was arrested on Friday evening at JFK Airport in New York over alleged $350,000 unemployment benefits fraud.

According to Seattle Times, he was nabbed while trying to Flee the country following discovery of his criminal practices by the authorities.

The US attorney’s office in Western District of Washington disclosed that a criminal complaint had been lodged against Rufai for stealing over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State employment security department (ESD).

According to the complainant, Rufai used the fake and stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with ESD for pandemic-related unemployment benefits.

Rufai was also accused of filing fraudulent unemployment claims with Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania.

The Nigerian was accused of using variations of a single e-mail address in a manner intended to bypass automatic detection by fraud systems.

US law enforcement agents said more than $288,000 was deposited into an American bank account controlled by Rufai between March and August 2020.

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The 42-year-old was said to have ensured that the fraud proceeds were paid out to online payment accounts such as “Green Dot” accounts, or wired to bank accounts controlled by “money mules”.

The US authorities also said some of the proceeds were mailed to Jamaica, New York addresses of Rufai’s relative.

Reacting to the arrest during Rufai’s first court appearance on Saturday, Tessa Gorman, acting US attorney, said it has been working with a law enforcement team since April 2020 to track criminals diverting relief funds meant for vulnerable American citizens.

“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,” Gorman said.

“This is the first, but will not be the last, significant arrest in our ongoing investigation of ESD fraud.”

Rufai has been scheduled for a detention hearing on Wednesday.

Rufai was appointed by the Ogun state governor in August 2020.

Rufai’s arrest came about a year after the ESD temporarily halted unemployment benefit payments amid infiltration of the scheme by criminals.

The government averred that most dubious claims received by the ESD were probably filed outside the US.

The US government discovered that criminals used stolen social security numbers to file for federal and state unemployment benefits payments.