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An Indianapolis man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and other offenses related to COVID unemployment fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced Dec. 29.
Senior Judge Richard L. Young of the Indiana Southern District Court sentenced Temitope S. Adeboye to four years and nine months in prison and ordered that he be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison and pay $804,460.54 in restitution.
In 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which provided for the funding of unemployment benefits that were to be paid out by the states. A prospective claimant could apply for benefits and request that their unemployment benefits be placed onto a prepaid debit card.
According to court documents, beginning on a date unknown and continuing until at least Aug. 6, 2020, Adeboye, 32, obtained and used unemployment debit cards from the state of Nevada in the names of identity theft victims.
Those individuals had not applied for unemployment benefits, and in some instances, when the identity theft victim applied for benefits themselves, they learned that someone had already applied using their identity information.
Adeboye used the fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits debit cards to purchase money orders and other items of value.
When asked to verify his identity by cashiers, Adeboye used fake IDs in the names of the identity theft victims. He later used money orders that were purchased with stolen unemployment benefits to buy a Lexus.
“As the pandemic raged across the country in 2020, fraudsters embraced the motto, ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste.’ While countless individuals experienced tremendous grief as loved ones passed away and the strain of isolation grew, this defendant saw an opportunity to steal money and identities,” Zachary A. Myers, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a news release. “The Department of Justice and our partners in federal, state, and local law enforcement are committed to identifying and prosecuting the criminals who took advantage of the global crisis to scheme and steal. This prison sentence demonstrates that these thieves will have a price to pay in federal court.”
In August, Adeboye was arrested by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers for driving with a suspended driver’s license.
During a search of the vehicle, officers found the following items: 96 unemployment debit cards issued by Nevada, each under a different name; a Kroger receipt for $1,501.76; multiple money orders issued by Western Union, U.S. Postal Service and MoneyGram; and U.S. currency totaling $76,680.
At the time of his arrest, Adeboye possessed approximately 32 fake driver’s licenses from Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio, including some that were under the same stolen identities as the unemployment debit cards.
The 96 unemployment debit cards recovered from Adeboye were used in more than 5,000 transactions at various retailers and financial institutions.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IMPD investigated the case, and assistant U.S. attorney Kyle Sawa prosecuted the case.
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