Lekki big boy and socialite, Abidemi Rufai was arrested on Friday evening at JFK Airport in New York while trying to flee.
Reports from the US attorney’s office in Western District of Washington, indicates a criminal complaint had been filed against Rufai for stealing over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State employment security department (ESD).
Ogun Governor’s Aide, Abidemi Rufai
Rufai, a Senior Special Assistant to governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, allegedly used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with ESD for Covid-19 related unemployment benefits.
FBI, on its twitter handle wrote, “Nigerian Citizen Charged with Defrauding Washington State Employment Security Department of More Than $350,000: Abidemi Rufai, a Nigerian citizen, was arrested Friday evening at JFK Airport in New York on a criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud.”
The 42 year old made fraudulent unemployment claims with Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania. He was also accused of using variations of a single e-mail address in a manner intended to evade automatic detection by fraud systems.
US law enforcement agents stated that more than $288,000 was lodged into a bank within the United States between March and August, 2020. If found guilty, he could spend up to 30 years behind bars.