A United States District Court has sentenced a 43-year-old Nigerian, Abiola Femi Quadri, to 11 years and three months in federal prison for orchestrating a massive COVID-19 benefits fraud scheme that defrauded California and Nevada of over $1.3 million.
Quadri, a resident of Pasadena in the San Gabriel Valley, was sentenced on Thursday by Judge George H. Wu, who also ordered him to pay $1,356,229 in restitution and a $35,000 fine.
Court documents revealed that Quadri submitted more than 100 fraudulent applications for pandemic unemployment and disability insurance using stolen identities.
He allegedly used proceeds from the scheme to fund the construction of a luxury resort hotel and a shopping mall in Nigeria.
Investigators said at least $500,000 of the stolen funds were wired abroad for the development of the facility, identified as Oyins International, a 120-room hotel in Nigeria featuring a nightclub, mall, and other high-end amenities.
Quadri, who acquired U.S. permanent residency through what he described in private messages as a “fake wedding,” pleaded guilty on January 2, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
His fraudulent activities continued between 2021 and 2024, and he was arrested in September 2024 at the Los Angeles International Airport as he attempted to flee to Nigeria.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Quadri failed to disclose his ownership of the Nigerian hotel in his financial statements submitted to the court.
During the search of his residence, federal agents discovered food-aid debit cards meant for developmentally disabled children, which had been misappropriated under his Altadena-based daycare business, Rock of Peace.
Incriminating evidence found on his phone included images of 17 counterfeit checks amounting to over $3.3 million, along with chat messages discussing their negotiation. Some of the checks were made out to fictitious companies registered under aliases linked to Quadri.
The United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the California Employment Development Department’s Investigation Division led the probe, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Brown from the Major Frauds Section prosecuted the case.
Quadri’s conviction adds to the growing list of Nigerians facing international disgrace over fraud-related offences, sparking renewed calls for transnational collaboration in combating cyber and economic crimes.
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