A Nigerian man, Adepoju Salako, has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in the United States for his involvement in a wire fraud scheme linked to the 2022 Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) programme in Alaska.
Salako, 33, who resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on Tuesday after investigations revealed his role in defrauding the Alaska Department of Revenue through fake applications submitted under the PFD programme.
According to a statement released by the United States Department of Justice, the fraudulent activities took place between January and February 2022.
Investigators said Salako obtained personal information belonging to legitimate residents of Alaska and used it to submit seven fraudulent applications in an attempt to steal dividend payments.
The report also stated that Salako had never lived in Alaska and only visited the state for the first time during his sentencing.
“Salako obtained the personal identifying information for legitimate Alaskan residents and submitted seven separate applications to the Alaska DOR to obtain their PFD funds.
“Salako was never an Alaskan resident and had never traveled to Alaska up until his arrival in the state for his sentencing in this matter.
“Court documents detail that Salako created new email accounts that he controlled for each legitimate Alaska resident whose PII he fraudulently obtained,” the statement read.
He pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud.
The court ruled that the 18-month sentence will run concurrently with an earlier six-and-a-half-year sentence he received in a separate COVID-19 relief fraud and international money laundering case in Colorado, where he was also ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution to victims.
