Nigerian-American jailed 18 months for dividend fraud in US

Adepoju Salako, a 33-year-old Nigerian-American, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for a scheme to defraud Alaska's oil wealth dividend program. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud in federal court in Anchorage.

Between January and February 2022, Salako obtained personal information from seven Alaska residents. He then submitted fraudulent applications to the Alaska Department of Revenue to redirect their Permanent Fund Dividend payments into bank accounts he controlled. The Permanent Fund Dividend is an annual payment from the state's oil revenue to eligible residents.

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Mr. Salako spent considerable time planning and perpetrating his scheme to defraud the Alaska PFD. Related News US court jails Nigerian for Internet fraud Osun man to die by hanging for killing 62-year-old woman Three arraigned over alleged N11.4m fraud in Lagos Thanks to the great work of the Alaska Department of Revenue and FBI, he didn’t succeed; but even attempting to defraud the PFD will not be tolerated and could result in federal prison.

Salako accessed "myAlaska" online accounts, changed email addresses to ones he controlled, and rerouted payments. He used a Virtual Private Network to mask his location, making most applications appear to originate from Alaska. However, one application was submitted from his Philadelphia IP address.

The Alaska Department of Revenue detected the fraudulent activity and rejected all seven applications. Had the scheme succeeded, Salako would have obtained $22,988. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman stated that while Salako did not succeed, attempting to defraud the program will not be tolerated and carries federal prison consequences. FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schlegel emphasized that the dividend program is for Alaskans, not for exploitation by criminals.

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The Alaska PFD program is intended to benefit current and future generations of eligible Alaskans, not criminals like Salako who seek to exploit the program through fraud and identity theft. Despite efforts to mask his identity, Salako was identified through strong program safeguards and diligent investigative work in partnership with the Alaska Department of Revenue.