Two Nigerians based in the United States of America, Solomon Aluko and Nosakhare Nobore, alongside four others, are at risk of 62 years’ imprisonment each following their arraignment before a New York court on allegations of defrauding the US government to the tune of $50m.
It was gathered from a court document obtained on the US Department of Justice website on Sunday that the suspects were arraigned on four counts bordering on conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity, conspiracy to defraud the government, and aggravated identity theft.
The court document indicated that the suspects committed the offences between March 2020 and March 2025, in the Southern District of New York and across other places in the US.
The charge sheet noted that “the defendants, and others, worked together to steal money that did not belong to them by passing counterfeit, stolen, and fraudulently obtained cheques. They submitted the cheques to banks and then withdrew or transferred funds before the banks could determine that the cheques were counterfeit, stolen, or fraudulent.”
According to the document, the defendants allegedly stole information and identities of different individuals and businesses and used the information and identities to open bank accounts through one of their members, who was a bank teller at the time.
The bank accounts were allegedly used to deposit fraudulently obtained cheques from different US agencies.
It continued, “Once the cheques were deposited, the defendants withdrew the fraudulently obtained funds in cash or transferred them to other bank accounts under their control.
“Throughout their scheme, the defendants attempted to obtain approximately $80 million in total. They succeeded in depositing approximately $50 million.”
In a statement accompanying the document on the DoJ website, it was revealed that the suspects created a ‘fraud bible’, which contained specific instructions on how each member of the syndicate would operate.
It further noted that the syndicate also openly communicated its operations via a Telegram group where discussions on their operations were held.
Commenting on the activities of the syndicate, the statement quoted the US FBI Acting Assistant Director, Leslie R. Backschies, as saying, “These six defendants allegedly used sham businesses, stolen, and fake identities to operate a multi-year cheque fraud scheme, resulting in $50 million in illicit funds being deposited into their accounts.
“The defendants brazenly attempted to exploit multiple United States government programmes in their attempts to illegally enrich themselves. The FBI will continue to ensure fraudsters attempting to lie, cheat, and steal from the government answer for their crimes in the criminal justice system.”
Similarly, the US IRS Special Agent in Charge of the case, Harry Chavis, said, “This group of suspects openly communicated about their fraud, taking pride in the multiple schemes that stole nearly $50 million from the American public.
“They lied and cheated a benefits system meant to help struggling businesses that need it, all while stealing cheques from agencies that assist the elderly and veterans. This gang of ‘bag hunters’ will now face justice for multiple charges.”
Following their indictment, the statement noted that the suspects could be sentenced to 62 years imprisonment each for the four counts.
It acknowledged that the defendants were presumed innocent until proven guilty by the court.
“Anand, 34, of Queens, New York; Nobore, 29, of Edgewater, New Jersey; Pappas, 28, of Miami, Florida; Ujkic, 44, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Aluko, 29, of Hackensack, New Jersey; and Gonzalez, 28, of North Bergen, New Jersey, are each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; conspiracy to commit money laundering and engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specific unlawful activity, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; conspiracy to defraud the government, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison.
“The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
“The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty,” the statement concluded.
