U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin has sentenced Victor Ojo, a 30-year-old resident of Belcamp, Maryland, to six years in federal prison for his involvement in aggravated identity theft and an attempted bank fraud scheme. Following his prison term, Ojo will undergo three years of supervised release.
Ojo's criminal activities included an intended bank fraud loss of $1.5 million and participation in a fraudulent scheme to acquire $28,350 in unemployment insurance benefits. As part of the sentencing, he was ordered to forfeit $20,014.03 and pay restitution amounting to $78,350.
The announcement came from Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Andrew McKay and Scott Moffit from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s Mid-Atlantic Field Division and Cybercrime Investigations Division respectively.
According to court documents related to his guilty plea, Ojo conspired with Damilola Ojo, Jamelia Thompson, Raissa Kaossele, and others between April 2016 and August 2019 to commit bank fraud using the IRS's Modernized Internet Employer Identification Number (MODIEIN) system. This system requires valid personal information to obtain Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) necessary for business registration.
Ojo and his associates exploited these EINs along with fraudulent state business certificates to open bank accounts at various financial institutions where they deposited stolen or altered checks and received illicit wire transfers. These transactions often stemmed from Business Email Compromises.
Law enforcement found evidence connecting Ojo to fraudulent activities upon his arrest including financial documents linked to fraudulent accounts and a $14,000 check bearing another individual's name.
Additionally, before his arrest for bank-fraud conspiracy charges, Ojo admitted involvement in acquiring unemployment insurance benefits fraudulently using a victim’s identification from California’s Employment Development Department (EDD). The EDD had issued a debit card loaded with benefits which Ojo used at ATMs in Harford County while being captured on surveillance footage during some withdrawals.
U.S. Attorney Barron acknowledged the efforts of TIGTA in this investigation as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph L. Wenner, Paul Riley, John D’Amico who prosecuted the case with assistance from Joanna B.N. Huber from Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force Paralegal Specialist team.
The Maryland Strike Force is one among five such teams across the United States formed by the Department of Justice aimed at tackling COVID-19 related frauds including those involving CARES Act funds meant for pandemic relief efforts affected by economic challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic conditions globally.
For more details on actions against pandemic-related crimes or if anyone wishes to report any allegations regarding attempted COVID-19 fraud cases they can contact National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or use their online complaint form provided by DOJ websites listed below:
For more information about ongoing initiatives or resources offered through Maryland U.S Attorney's Office please visit their official website links given above.