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U.S. Grand Jury Ratifies $350,000 Fraud Charges Against Abidemi Rufai
- Rufai allegedly used the identities of more than 100 Washington residents to steal more than $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
Abidemi Rufai, a suspended aide of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, has now been formally charged with alleged conspiracy and wire fraud in a Unites States court.
In a statement on Saturday, Acting Attorney, Tessa Gorman, disclosed that the charges are before the Western District Court of Washington at Tacoma.
The statement said a federal grand jury has ratified the charges involving “aggravated identity theft”, a scheme he allegedly used “to steal over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department.”
Read also: Rufai: Proposed Surety’s Husband Convicted Fraudster – U.S Govt
A grand jury in the U.S. is a group of citizens empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought.
In total, nine counts of wire fraud and five counts of aggravated identity theft were ratified by the grand jury against the defendant.
Rufai is expected to remain in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, for now.
But the acting attorney said, “prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle to order Rufai detained and transported to the Western District of Washington for arraignment on the indictment.”
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