CV Man Sentenced for COVID Relief Fraud Scheme
Last week, a Castro Valley man was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his part in illegally obtaining as much as $3.5 million in COVID-related unemployment benefits from various states using reloadable debit cards known as “Green Dot Cards.”
Idowu Hashim Shittu, 48, pleaded guilty to the charges on March 1, 2023, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California. On May 18, 2022, Shittu was charged with three felony counts of fraudulent transactions. He is expected to begin his sentence on October 11.
According to his plea agreement, between April and July 2020, Shittu engaged in a scheme to use the Green Dot cards for his personal use. Shittu did not know his victims, nor did he obtain their consent, FBI officials said. The unemployment benefits were distributed as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
The plea agreement describes how Shittu used the Green Dot Cards issued to three different people—all residents of the State of Washington. The first victim is identified only by the initials “S.O.” Shittu admitted that S.O. never submitted a claim for unemployment benefits and that S.O.’s card was obtained through fraud. Further, Shittu acknowledged that he completed multiple transactions with the card—including one transaction for $950 and two transactions, each for $1,000, at a Walmart store in San Jose. Similarly, Shittu acknowledged using a card issued in the name of a second victim to make multiple cash withdrawals at Walmart stores in Hayward and San Leandro and stores in Castro Valley. Shittu also admitted that in the Spring of 2020, he used the card of a third victim to withdraw cash and to pay for service to his BMW 5-series automobile.
On July 29, 2020, law enforcement officers searched Shittu's residence and found over $500,000 in cash split between a plastic container in a garage and a backpack under a bathroom sink. Officers also found more than 400 Green Dot Cards issued to other individuals. The Green Dot Cards were loaded with more than $1.6 million in unemployment benefits from various state agencies.
“Shittu stole benefits intended to assist those who became unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge, Western Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “This sentencing demonstrates that those who defraud the UI program will be held accountable. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate those who exploit these benefit programs.”
In addition to the prison term, US District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam also ordered Shittu to serve a three-year term of supervised release after being released from prison and pay restitution in the amount of $1,615,614 split among state employment agencies in Illinois, Nevada, New York, and Ohio.