A Nigerian, Adedayo Ilori, has been charged with COVID-19 fraud by the United States Government.
Ilori, a resident in Queens, New York, has been charged alongside a 56-year-old American, Chris Recamier, in a $7.5Million fraud against the United States Government.
The indictment, filed on Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court, might see 42-year-old Ilori and his accomplice sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
The culprits falsely represented a Small Business Administration (SBA) and private lenders that operated several companies to obtain up to $7Million in Government-guaranteed loans, which is meant to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic small business in America.
The case has been assigned to the U.S. District Court Judge, Mary Kay Vyskocil, with both culprits in custody.
Damian Williams, a U.S. Attorney, alleged that “Adedayo Ilori has made it quite a habit to committing loan fraud.”
Adding that, they used stolen identities and submitted falsified tax documents.
“Ilori and his co-defendant, Chris Reclaimer, now face criminal charges for attempting to steal over $7 million in funds specifically designated to assist small businesses struggling with financial hardships from the worldwide COVID pandemic.”
“Special Agent in Charge Keith A. Bonanno said, “Ilori and Recamier allegedly stole the identities of individuals and companies and fraudulently obtained over a million dollars intended to help those suffering from hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee COVID-19 Task Force is dedicated to rooting out these kinds of schemes and bringing the fraudsters to justice.”
The DOJ said that Ilori and Reclaimer applied for different PPP and EIDL loans between august 2020and October 2021 with stolen identities of third parties.
They claimed ownership to many companies, which they claimed to have employed more than 200 people with a payment structure of more than $3.2Million in monthly wages.
They also falsely submitted tax documents never filed with the United States internal revenue service.
Though Ilori and Reclaimer succeeded in obtaining more than $1Million due to the scheme despite attempting to obtain over $7.5Million.
The majority of the funds they obtained was transferred into Cryptocurrency investment, purchase of stocks, cash withdrawals and personal expenses, with the investment accounts also opened with stolen identities of third parties.
Ilori, who is also facing a separate charge of fraud, identity theft and money laundering, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, with conspiracy to commit money laundering on April 8, 2021.
Ilori could be facing up to 20 years in jail as charges against him accumulates.
In filed papers, Adedayo Ilori said he got involved in the bank-loan fraud through a friend who introduced him to it after his personal-training business, called ‘DFine by Dayo Ilori’, suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.