Ogun Gov’s aide, Abidemi Rufai indicted for wire fraud

Admin l Thursday, May 27, 2021

 

NEW YORK, United States – Arrested aide of Ogun State Governor, Mr. Abidemi Rufai has been indicted for wire fraud in the United States.  Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman who made the announcement said Abidemi Rufai aka Sandy Tang(42) was indicted for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft to the tune of $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Abidemi Rufai was arrested at New York May 14, 2021. He is currently being detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York on the order of District Judge Benjamin Settle.

Rufai is now charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, and five counts of aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment, Rufai used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with ESD for pandemic-related unemployment benefits.

Rufai, according to the indictment also filed fraudulent unemployment claims with Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania, using 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. Rufai 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 brother.

Rufai was residing at his brother’s home during part of the period of the fraud. Law enforcement determined more than $288,000 was deposited into an American bank account controlled by Rufai between March and August 2020.”

Abidemi Rufai could spend up to 30 years imprisonment if convicted. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Wilkinson, Cindy Chang, and Benjamin Diggs of the Western District of Washington, and Trial Attorney Jane Lee of DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS).