Philadelphia Man Sentenced To 78 Months For COVID Relief Fraud And International Money Laundering

DENVER - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announces that Adepoju Babtunde Salako, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy. As part of the plea agreement, Salako also agreed to plead guilty to seven counts of wire fraud in the District of Alaska. The defendant was ordered to pay $2,581,002.50 in restitution to the victims of his crimes.

According to the plea agreement, throughout most of the year 2021, Salako was part of a conspiracy that stole more than $5 million in funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, and 30 state unemployment programs through several complex schemes. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government launched the PPP and EIDL economic relief programs and provided federal funds to state unemployment programs. In one scheme, Salako and two co-conspirators used information of identity theft victims to fraudulently obtain PPP Loans and unemployment benefits and submitted fraudulent applications for EIDL Loans. In another scheme, co-conspirators, who were primarily located in Nigeria, used stolen identities and enlisted romance scam victims to obtain government money. Salako's role was then to receive money from the romance scam victims and government agencies and to launder fraud proceeds, primarily to China and Nigeria, for a fee of approximately 25 percent.

"Mr. Salako and his criminal associates exploited innocent people and stole millions of dollars from American taxpayers," said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly. "We are committed to finding and prosecuting fraudsters and, as this sentence demonstrates, these criminals will pay a serious price for their actions."

"Salako was the point man in the U.S. for an international criminal organization that preyed on honest business owners and taxpayers, while also jeopardizing our national security," said Amanda Prestegard, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-CI Denver Field Office. "Our special agents are experts at uncovering complex financial crimes and today's sentence is an example of their great work, our relationships with the U.S. Attorney's Office and our federal and state law enforcement partners."

"The U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General is committed to upholding the integrity of the Postal Service and its workforce. Our office will continue to investigate those who choose to breach the public's trust and engage in fraudulent activity. The sentence imposed on the defendant stands as a clear warning that serious consequences await anyone who exploits government resources to commit criminal acts," said Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office. "USPS OIG is thankful for the great longstanding relationships we have developed with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office to combat fraud."

United States District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney presided over the sentencing.

IRS Criminal Investigation, the Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment handled the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Craig Fansler handled the prosecution.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

Case Number: 25-cr-00162-CNS