An aide to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun is currently enmeshed in a Covid-19 unemployment fraud of over $350,000 about N140 million in the United States.
Abidemi Rufai, who is a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abiodun, was arrested last Friday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York attempting to board a flight to Amsterdam.
Rufai is scheduled for a detention hearing this Wednesday.
A statement by the Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said that a team “worked diligently with federal law enforcement officials to track down the criminals who allegedly stole funds earmarked for pandemic relief after a fraud report to their office in April 2020.
The money in question is said to be unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department.
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.
The Ogun State government is yet to react to the development.
