By John Ogunsemore
United States District Judge George H. Wu has jailed Nigerian socialite Abiola Femi Quadri for 11 years and ordered him to pay $1,356,229 (app. N2.07bn) in restitution and a $35,000 (app. N53m) fine for orchestrating a $1.3 million COVID-19 scam.
The US Attorney’s Office, Central District of California disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday.
Quadri, a permanent resident of the US living in Pasadena, was sentenced to federal prison on Thursday for defrauding California and Nevada out of $1.3 million in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment and disability insurance benefits by submitting more than 100 fraudulent applications using stolen identities and using the money to build a nightclub and mall in Nigeria.
According to the statement, court documents showed Quadri acquired his permanent residency through a “fake wedding” in messages to a woman who was not his wife.
The 43-year-old was arrested on September 20, 2024, and on January 2, 2025, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
A criminal complaint filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California on September 19 detailed Quadri’s alleged fraudulent scheme, particularly how he stole the Personal Identifying information (PII), including Social Security Numbers (SSNs) of about 91 Americans to collect their disability, unemployment and COVID-19 benefits between 2020 and 2024.
The statement reads in part, “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.
“Investigators found on Quadri’s phone images of 17 counterfeit checks totaling more than $3.3 million, along with messages about negotiating the checks.
“Some of the checks were made payable to shell businesses held in the names of Quadri’s aliases.
“California paid Quadri to provide daycare services to developmentally disabled children through his Altadena-based business, Rock of Peace.
“When agents searched Quadri’s residence, they found the children’s misappropriated food-aid debit cards.”
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