US jails Nigerian caregiver for stealing $17,000 disabled child’s benefit

Akeatha Diane Akintola, a 48-year-old Nigerian social worker based in the United States, has been sentenced to five months in prison for stealing more than $17,000 in Social Security benefits. These funds were designated for a disabled child under her care in Washington State.

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she was struck by the fact that Akintola had targeted a vulnerable victim.

Akintola pleaded guilty to theft of public funds after admitting to unlawfully diverting $17,638 intended for a minor with intellectual disabilities. The US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington stated that Akintola was taken into custody immediately following her plea and sentencing hearing before Magistrate Judge Kate Vaughan.

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In September 2023, Akintola applied by telephone to be the Social Security representative payee for a minor child with intellectual disabilities who was a ward of the tribe. The Tribe prohibits its social workers from becoming a representative payee for any child under its care. Nevertheless, Akintola used the child’s Social Security number and her own to apply to be the minor child’s representative payee.

During the sentencing, Judge Vaughan criticized Akintola's actions, expressing dismay that she targeted a vulnerable individual. Court records revealed that Akintola became a social worker for the Snoqualmie Tribe in January 2023. She subsequently applied to become the Representative Payee for a minor child under the tribe's care, despite tribal prohibitions against social workers serving in this capacity. The child's mother had passed away, leaving survivor benefits.

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Prosecutors learnt she had left the U.S. on May 20, 2026, and travelled to Togo in West Africa using a passport issued in a different last name.

Prosecutors stated that Akintola used the child's Social Security number and her own information to secure the appointment. She then redirected the benefits into a bank account she controlled, spending the money on personal items. The theft was discovered in July 2024 when Akintola's supervisor accompanied her to the Social Security Administration to inquire about the child's missing benefits. Officials informed them that Akintola was listed as the payee, a claim she initially denied before resigning the next day. Akintola later failed to appear for a scheduled hearing, having left the U.S. for Togo, West Africa, using a passport under a different last name. She was apprehended and appeared for her rescheduled hearing on July 15, when she was ordered to begin serving her sentence.

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Akintola appeared for the plea and sentencing hearing yesterday (July 15), and Judge Vaughan ultimately ordered her into custody to begin serving the sentence immediately.