A Nigerian man, Adepoju Salako, has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in the United States over his involvement in a wire fraud scheme tied to Alaska’s 2022 Permanent Fund Dividend programme.
Salako, 33, who lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on Tuesday after investigators uncovered his role in submitting fraudulent applications to illegally obtain funds meant for residents of Alaska.
The conviction was disclosed in a statement released on Friday by the United States Department of Justice.
According to court documents, the fraudulent activities occurred between January and February 2022.
Investigators said Salako obtained the personal identification information of legitimate residents of Alaska and used the stolen details to file seven separate applications for Permanent Fund Dividend payments.
The authorities noted that the convict had never resided in Alaska and had not visited the state until he travelled there for sentencing.
The Justice Department stated that Salako created and controlled multiple email accounts linked to the identities of the victims whose information he allegedly stole.
“Salako obtained the personal identifying information for legitimate Alaskan residents and submitted seven separate applications to the Alaska Department of Revenue to obtain their PFD funds,” the statement noted.
The statement further revealed that Salako pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud.
The court ruled that the 18-month jail term would run concurrently with an earlier sentence handed to him in a separate fraud case involving COVID-19 relief funds and international money laundering in the District of Colorado.
In the previous case, Salako had been sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment and ordered to pay $2.5m in restitution to victims affected by the crimes.