Wash. state unemployment fraud suspect arrested at JFK Airport

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

SEATTLE – A Nigerian citizen was arrested at New York's JFK Airport and charged with wire fraud in a scheme to steal over $350,000 in Washington state unemployment benefits, federal officials said.

Abidemi Rufai, aka Sandy Tang, 42, of Lekki, Nigeria, was arrested Friday night and made an initial court appearance on Saturday. He is scheduled for a detention hearing Tuesday, said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

“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 (unemployment) fraud.”

According to court documents in the case, Rufai used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington state residents to file fraudulent claims with the Employment Security Department for pandemic-related jobless benefits.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wash-state-unemployment-fraud-suspect-arrested-at-jfk-airport/ar-BB1gPCq0

Nigerian citizen charged with defrauding Washington Employment Security Department of over $350,000

A Nigerian citizen is charged with wire fraud for his scheme to steal more than $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Tessa M. Gorman announced.

Abidemi Rufai, also known as Sandy Tang, 42, of Lekki, Nigeria, was arrested at JFK Airport in New York Friday. He made his initial court appearance Saturday and is scheduled for a detention hearing Tuesday.

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

According to the criminal complaint, Rufai stole the identities of more than 100 Washingtonians and used them to file false claims with ESD to get pandemic-related unemployment benefits.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/nigerian-citizen-charged-with-defrauding-washington-employment-security-department-of-over-350-000/ar-BB1gPGuD

[dweller]

1. painful alias

✌🏻

[multigraincracker]

2. Don't click on any text messages from "unemployment Office".

The new big scam. I got one from Colorado phone # and a problem with my UE account. Have not collected UE for over 30 years. Checked the area code and it wasn't from Michigan or Ohio.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. Man arrested for ESD fraud allegedly used email scheme to steal more than $350K

A Nigerian man has been arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York amid allegations that he stole more than $350,000 in unemployment insurance benefits from Washington's state Employment Security Department and defrauded six other states in a similar fashion.

The criminal complaint against Abidemi Rufai, aka Sandy Tang, 42, of Lekki, Nigeria, alleges that he committed wire fraud by using used stolen identities of Washington state residents and variations of a single Gmail address to exploit a weakness in state benefits systems with a simple hoodwink of its anti-fraud systems.

Rufai was detained by FBI agents on Friday after investigators were tipped off that he was about to leave the U.S. to fly to Lagos, Nigeria, via Amsterdam, on Dutch airline KLM.

The FBI complaint states Rufai shared the proceeds of his alleged crimes with a brother in Jamaica, New York, and also filed fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with six other states' unemployment insurance funds, so the losses of public funds are likely to be much higher than $350,000.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/05/17/esd-fraud-arrest-nigerian-abidemi-rufai-sandytangy.html