A Nigerian woman based in the United States of America, Funke Iyanda, is at risk of 10 years imprisonment following her indictment in a $40,980 unemployment benefit fraud.

PUNCH Metro learnt in a statement by the US Department of Justice on Thursday that Iyanda was an illegal resident of the US and was not entitled to the benefit for which she filed claims.
The statement noted that between May 2020 and May 2021, the suspect applied for the unemployment benefit scheme using another person’s identity and received a sum of $40,980.

The statement read, “A Nigerian national residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of theft of government property. The one-count Indictment named Funke Iyanda, 43, with no U.S. status, as the sole defendant.
“According to the Indictment, from May 27, 2020, to May 24, 2021, Iyanda prepared and submitted a false application and claim for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits in the name of another person to the PA Department of Labour, for which Iyanda received approximately $40,980 in unemployment benefits to which Iyanda was not legally entitled.”

The statement continued that if found guilty, the suspect could be sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

It acknowledged that the suspect was considered innocent until proved otherwise by the court.

“The law provides for a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
“Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence would be based on the seriousness of the offence and the defendant’s prior criminal history, if any.

“An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty,” the statement concluded.

PUNCH Metro reported on March 5 that a US-based Professor of Nigeria origin, Gordian Ndubizu, was sentenced to two years imprisonment by a Trenton federal court for tax evasion.

The DoJ noted that Ndubizu alongside his wife, ran a pharmacy that earned about $3.28m in income, resulting in the evasion of approximately $1.25m in tax due and owing between 2014 and 2017.

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