Adepoju Babtunde Salako, 34, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in a case involving fraudulent COVID-19 relief claims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced.
According to court records, Salako participated in a 2021 scheme that fraudulently obtained funds from the federal Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program as well as unemployment programs in about 30 states. Prosecutors said the conspiracy used stolen identities and romance-scam victims to submit fraudulent applications and receive government funds.
Salako admitted he received fraud proceeds from victims and government agencies and laundered the money — primarily sending it to China and Nigeria — in exchange for roughly a 25% fee. The scheme resulted in more than $5 million in losses. U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney ordered Salako to pay $2,581,002.50 in restitution.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, the Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Fansler prosecuted the case.