A Nigerian man living in the United States, Abiola Quadri, has been sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing over $1.3 million in government relief money meant to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quadri, who is 43 years old and a permanent resident of Pasadena, California, used fake names and stolen identities to apply for hundreds of unemployment and disability benefit programs. He collected the money by pretending to be people affected by the pandemic, even though those people didn’t know anything about it.
Between 2021 and 2024, Quadri withdrew large amounts of the stolen money from ATMs and secretly sent more than $500,000 to Nigeria, where he used it to start building a luxurious hotel, shopping mall, and nightclub called Oyins International Resort. Authorities say these properties are filled with high-end amenities—but Quadri didn’t tell the court he owned any of it.
During the investigation, federal agents found 17 fake checks worth over $3.3 million saved on Quadri’s phone, along with text messages showing he was involved in even more fraud. Some of the fake checks were tied to fake companies he created using made-up names.
He also took advantage of his own business in California, called Rock of Peace, which was supposed to help children with disabilities. Instead, he used it to illegally collect food-aid debit cards.
Quadri was arrested in September 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport as he was trying to leave the country for Nigeria. He later admitted in court that he got his U.S. residency through a fake marriage.
On July 10, 2023, he was sentenced by Judge George H. Wu. He was ordered to pay back $1.3 million and pay a fine of $35,000. He had pleaded guilty to one charge: conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
The case was handled by several U.S. agencies, including the Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and California’s Employment Development Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Brown
