Three young Nigerians have been jailed in the United States for stealing over $520,000 from Covid-19 unemployment programmes, in a case that once again casts a shadow on Nigeria’s global image.

Those convicted are 24-year-old Kamaldeen Karaole and 24-year-old Johnson Omodusonu, both based in Indianapolis, and 23-year-old Stephen Olamigoke from Nigeria. Working with accomplices overseas, the trio stole unemployment debit cards and cashed them in across Indiana.

Karaole, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for identity theft and fraud, while Olamigoke received two and a half years. Omodusonu got two years. Each will serve two years of supervised release, after prison. Olamigoke is to be deported at the end of his term.

The court ordered them to refund the full $520,910 stolen. Investigators said the men obtained 168 unemployment debit cards issued in California, Arizona, and Nevada, using 98 of them to make more than 500 ATM withdrawals in Indianapolis.

Officials said the cash was meant for workers, who lost their jobs during the pandemic. “They shamelessly exploited a national crisis”, FBI Special Agent Timothy O’Malley said. Other officials described the crime as “heartless”, and vowed to protect public benefits from fraud.

The case has sparked concern in Nigeria, where incidents of cybercrime and fraud abroad continue to tarnish the country’s reputation. Analysts warn that while only a few individuals are involved in such crimes; their actions reinforce damaging stereotypes about Nigerians overseas.

The FBI, the Department of Labour’s Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the fraud. U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon delivered the sentences, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Miller, prosecuted the case.

For many Nigerians at home and abroad, the case is another painful reminder of the urgent need to promote integrity, as the nation struggles to shake off its association with internet and financial crimes.

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