$350,000 Fraud: Suspended Governor’s Aide Faces 30 Years In US Prison

By Dayo Badmus,

A Senior Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor, Abidemi Rufai, is facing up to 30 years in prison if he is convicted of wire fraud.

According to the United States Department of Justice, wire fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison when it relates to benefits paid in connection with a presidentially-declared disaster or emergency, such as the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Rufai, who served as the Deputy Director-General of the Dapo Abiodun Campaign Organisation in the last governorship election in the state, was arrested on Friday at the JFK Airport in New York, United States of America, on a criminal complaint of wire fraud for his scheme to steal over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department, the acting US Attorney, Tessa M. Gorman, announced.

Rufai, aka Sandy Tang, 42, of Lekki, Lagos, made his initial appearance in court on Saturday May 15, 2021, in New York.

“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.

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