Fraud: He Was Motivated By ‘Unrestrained Greed’ – US Judge Jails Ogun Governor’s Aide

A former Special Assistant to the Ogun State governor, Abidemi Rufai, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft by the United States District Court in Tacoma, Washington.

The US Department of Justice, Western District of Washington disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

Recall that Rufai, who was an aide to Gov Dapo Abiodun, had on May 4, 2022, pleaded guilty to defrauding employees of the Washington State Employment Security Department, United States to the tune of $350,000 (N144,585,000).

US prosecutor, Attorney Nick Brown, had alleged he attempted to steal nearly $2.4 million from the United States government, including approximately $500,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits.

“At the time of his arrest, Abidermi Rufai was the Special Assistant to the Governor of Nigeria’s Ogun State. He admitted a long history of using stolen identities to defraud U.S. disaster programs, including aid for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and file fraudulent U.S. tax returns,” the statement added.

Giving the judgement, Justice H. Settle held that the gravity of the offense showed the suspect was greedy.

“The motivation was greed, unrestrained greed, and a callousness towards those who have suffered, “Settle said while sentencing Rufai.