A 25-year-old Nigerian national, Oluwanishola Oyedyipo Jinadu, is facing multiple charges in the United States for allegedly defrauding federal pandemic relief programs while unlawfully residing in the country.
The Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Chad Meacham, announced the charges in a press statement on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Jinadu was indicted on February 26, 2025, on 17 counts, including:
- Five counts of theft of government money
- Three counts of wire fraud
- Eight counts of aggravated identity theft
- One count of making false statements in immigration documents
He made his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian McKay on Monday.
According to the indictment, Jinadu overstayed his B1/B2 visa and allegedly defrauded the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), both of which were introduced under the CARES Act to support individuals and businesses affected by COVID-19.
Authorities claim that Jinadu received stolen unemployment benefits into his bank accounts through fraudulent applications submitted in the names of at least five victims in Washington, Massachusetts, and Kansas—without their consent.
He is also accused of fraudulently obtaining over $65,000 in PPP funds, with applications allegedly submitted in the names of at least three victims in Oklahoma.
Shortly after allegedly committing these frauds, Jinadu applied for U.S. permanent residency. On his application, he reportedly answered "no" to the question:
“Have you EVER committed a crime of any kind (even if you were not arrested, cited, charged with, or tried for that crime)?”
He then certified under penalty of perjury that all the information he provided was true and correct.
If convicted, Jinadu faces up to 96 years in federal prison.The investigation was led by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, with support from Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiffany H. Eggers and Madeline S. Case.
However, it's important to note that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Like all defendants, Jinadu is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
