A Nigerian woman residing in the United States, Funke Iyanda, faces the possibility of 10 years in prison after being charged in a $40,980 unemployment benefits fraud case.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice released on Thursday, Iyanda, who was an illegal resident of the U.S., was not eligible for the unemployment benefits she claimed.
The statement revealed that between May 2020 and May 2021, Iyanda applied for the unemployment benefits program using someone else’s identity and received a total of $40,980.
The Department of Justice statement read, "A Nigerian national living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of theft of government property. Funke Iyanda, 43, who has no legal status in the U.S., was named as the sole defendant in the indictment."
It further stated that from May 27, 2020, to May 24, 2021, Iyanda submitted a fraudulent application for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits in another person’s name to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor, resulting in her receiving approximately $40,980 in benefits she was not legally entitled to.
The statement also noted that if convicted, Iyanda could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
It emphasized that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
"The law provides for a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. The actual sentence would depend on the severity of the offense and the defendant's prior criminal history, if any," the statement said.
An indictment is a formal accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, the statement concluded.
It was previously reported on March 5 that Gordian Ndubizu, a U.S.-based Nigerian professor, was sentenced to two years in prison by a Trenton federal court for tax evasion.
The Department of Justice noted that Ndubizu and his wife operated a pharmacy that earned approximately $3.28 million in income, leading to the evasion of around $1.25 million in taxes between 2014 and 2017.
