Abidemi Rufai suspended aide of Governor Dapo Abiodun, who was charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, has pleaded guilty to charges leveled against him by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Rufai entered a plea agreement on Tuesday, according to court documents from the district court for the western district of Washington, which outlined his offenses under statement of facts.
It noted that Mr Rufai “obtained the personal identifying information (PII)…of more than 20,000 unwitting 11 Americans… through unlawful means, including by misusing the Internal Revenue Service’s Data Retrieval Tool.”
It also noted that Mr Rufai “used this stolen PII to fraudulently obtain 15 federally-funded benefits under a variety of relief programs, and by submitting fraudulent 16 claims for tax refunds, in the names of the Americans.”
He is to pay $607,377 as restitution and also required to list all assets linked to him, including through his spouse and proxies, that will be seized if he is unable to pay the $607,377.
“Defendant agrees to disclose all assets in which defendant has any interest or over which defendant exercises control, directly or indirectly, including those held by a spouse, nominee, or third party,” said the document. “Defendant agrees to cooperate fully with the United States investigation identifying all property in which defendant has an interest and with the United States’ lawful efforts to enforce prompt payment of the financial obligations to be imposed in connection with this prosecution.”
All proceeds linked to fraudulent activities will be traced and forfeited to the U.S. government.
