A United States federal court has sentenced three Nigerian men to prison for their roles in a COVID-19 unemployment fraud scheme that stole more than $520,000 from state and federal programmes.

The convicts are Kamaldeen Karaole, 24, of Indianapolis; Stephen Olamigoke, 23, of Nigeria; and Johnson Omodusonu, 24, also of Indianapolis.

Karaole received four years and three months in prison, plus two years of supervised release, after being found guilty of aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and access device fraud.

Olamigoke was sentenced to two and a half years in prison with two years’ supervised release. He admitted he would be deported after serving his term.

Omodusonu was jailed for two years and also placed on supervised release for a further two years.

Each man was ordered to pay $520,910 in restitution.

According to court documents, the trio conspired with accomplices outside the U.S. between August and October 2020 to steal 168 unemployment insurance debit cards and PINs issued in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Using stolen identities, they filed fraudulent claims and loaded the benefits onto the cards.

They then used 98 cards to make 529 ATM withdrawals around Indianapolis, often within minutes of each other, siphoning off the funds intended to support workers who lost jobs during the pandemic.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Tom Wheeler, described the fraud as “heartless and criminal”, stressing that the men had exploited a system designed to help people survive during one of the worst crises in modern history.

Officials from the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the FBI also condemned the scheme, pledging to continue safeguarding public funds from such abuse.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Sentences were handed down by U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Miller prosecuted.