07/16/2025

Nigerian man sentenced to over 11 years in prison for fraudulently obtaining $1.3 million in COVID-19 jobless and disability benefits

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

LOS ANGELES — On July 10, 2023, a Nigerian man living in the San Gabriel Valley was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for defrauding California and Nevada of $1.3 million in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment and disability insurance benefits. He achieved this by submitting more than 100 fraudulent applications using stolen identities and used the money to build a nightclub and mall in Nigeria.

Abiola Femi Quadri, 43, of Pasadena, was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu, who also ordered him to pay $1,356,229 in restitution and a $35,000 fine.

Quadri is a Nigerian citizen who acquired permanent residency in the United States through what he described — according to court documents — as a “fake wedding” in messages to a woman who was not his wife. He pleaded guilty on Jan. 2 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Quadri withdrew the fraudulent unemployment and disability benefits at ATMs from 2021 until his arrest in September 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport, where he was scheduled to fly to Nigeria. Quadri sent at least $500,000 abroad during the scheme. He also paid for the construction of a 120-room resort hotel in Nigeria, the Oyins International, that includes a nightclub, a mall, and additional high-end amenities. Quadri failed to disclose his ownership of the hotel as required when completing his financial disclosure to the court.