A Nigerian National Sentenced to 78 Months in US Federal Prison for Role in Over $5 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme
A 34-year-old Nigerian man, Adepoju Babatunde Salako, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 78 months (six and a half years) in federal prison by a United States District Court for his involvement in a large-scale fraud targeting American COVID-19 relief programs. The sentencing, announced on March 4, 2026, by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, followed Salako's guilty plea to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy. As part of the plea agreement, he also agreed to plead guilty to seven additional counts of wire fraud in the District of Alaska. Court documents reveal that throughout most of 2021, Salako participated in a criminal conspiracy that defrauded more than $5 million from key U.S. pandemic relief initiatives. These included the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program administered by the Small Business Administration, and unemployment ...