Nigerian Man Nabbed by FBI Upon US Arrival for Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Scheme

Yomi Jones "Sabbie" Olayeye, a 40-year-old Nigerian man, was arrested by the FBI upon his arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on August 13, 2024.

Olayeye is accused of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that sought $10 million in fraudulent unemployment benefits and successfully received $1.5 million in pandemic relief payments.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts, Olayeye and an unnamed co-conspirator were indicted in September 2020 on multiple charges, including one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The indictment alleges that from March to July 2020, Olayeye and his accomplice used personally identifiable information (PII) obtained from criminal internet forums to impersonate eligible state residents and apply for various pandemic relief programs.

These programs included traditional Unemployment Assistance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).

The fraudsters allegedly opened bank accounts and prepaid debit cards using the stolen identities to receive the illicit payments.

They also rented space on a U.S. server to file the claims, attempting to obscure their connection to Nigeria. Prosecutors claim that individuals with U.S. bank accounts, referred to as "clients," were used to receive the fraudulent payments and wire the money back to Nigeria.

If convicted, Olayeye faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and conspiracy, plus a mandatory minimum sentence of two years for aggravated identity theft.

The court can also impose hefty fines and require forfeiture of ill-gotten gains and restitution to victims.

This case is being pursued under the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force established by the attorney general in May 2021 to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted, "The government intends to prove the defendant’s guilt at trial using, among other things, the contents of his own e-mail and other social media accounts, which establish both his connections to his co-defendant and his control of quantities of PII tied to pandemic and other species of fraud."