The Elkins Park man brought in $5.6 million in unemployment benefits and COVID-19 relief funds, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
ELKINS PARK, PA — A Montgomery County man has been indicted on federal charges of using over 1,000 stolen or fake identities to file for unemployment benefits and COVID-19 relief funds in more than 30 states. The scheme brought in $5.6 million, authorities said.
Adepoju Babatunde Salako, 33, of Elkins Park led an effort that brought in $5.6 million and faces six counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and four counts of aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Salako allegedly participated in a money laundering conspiracy involving fraudulent applications for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans to the Small Business Administration (SBA) between July 2020 and July 2021, the indictment states.
There were also applications for unemployment insurance benefits to more than 30 states that obtained more than $5.6 million in government benefits using over 1,000 stolen or fake identities, the indictment states.
Salako and his co-conspirators allegedly moved fraud proceeds through several intermediate accounts using various methods, eventually spending the money or transferring it overseas as currency or in the form of goods such as cars or solar panels.
The indictment also alleges that between January 4, 2021, and March 20, 2021, Salako submitted about 15 fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), using stolen or false identities.
Salako allegedly used names and addresses of residents of Colorado, which he looked up on personal information search websites such as TruthFinder, to submit applications using the Colorado residents’ actual identifiers.
The CDLE paid one unemployment insurance claim submitted by Salako, for $649, and paid an additional $15,431 to bank accounts controlled by Salako based on claims submitted by a co-conspirator, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The indictment also alleges that in addition to submitting fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to Colorado, Salako submitted and aided and abetted in the submission of fraudulent claims in other states using stolen or false identities, including Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and New York.
That included at least 10 fraudulent applications for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans to the SBA, using stolen or false identities, and a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan application in the name of Turn-Turn-Turn Woodturning, using the stolen identity of a Nevada resident.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans dealing with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CARES Act created the PPP, a program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provided loans to small businesses to retain workers, maintain payroll, and certain other expenses consistent with PPP rules.