Abidemi Rufai, a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, risks 32-year-jail term after being indicted for conspiracy, wire fraud
May 26, 2021 A Nigerian citizen arrested May 14, 2021 at JFK Airport in New York, is now indicted for conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his scheme to steal over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Abidemi Rufai, aka Sandy Tang of Lekki, Nigeria, remains detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. Prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle to order Rufai detained and transported to the Western District of Washington for arraignment on the indictment.
Abidemi Rufai
United States Magistrate Judge in Eastern District of New York, Ramon Reyes has received a letter from the US Department of Justice, claiming that the surety provided by Abidemi Rufai, the suspended aide of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, is also a suspected fraudster.
Rufai, who was arrested while trying to get out of the US on May 14, has been accused of allegedly using the identities of more than 100 Washington residents to steal more than $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
After being arraigned in court, the suspect presented a registered nurse identified as Nekpen Soyemi as his surety after his brother, Alaba Rufai, who is listed in court records could not post the $300,000 surety bond for his bail.
Surety provided by Ogun Governor s aide nabbed in US also a suspected fraudster – Court NEWS theadvocatengr.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theadvocatengr.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
From ‘Hushpuppi’ to Abidemi Rufai ‘Sandy Tang’
Abidemi Rufai
By Oludayo Tade
Twelve months ago, Ramoni Abbas (37 years) popularly known as ‘hushpuppi’ was arrested in June 2020 in Dubai for alleged money laundering from business email compromise fraud and other scams which targeted firms and an English premier league club. He made a total sum of $435 million after defrauding 1,926,400 victims.
A year after, Abidemi Rufai (also known as ‘Sandy Tang’), a Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun was also arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at John F Kennedy Airport, New York over a criminal complaint of defrauding Washington State Employment Security Department of $350,000 (N144,375,000). The ‘stolen’ funds were pandemic relief fund designed by the Washington State for people who might have suffered job losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.