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United States Court has sentenced Nigerian, Shalom Olumide Ayotunde, to 46 months in jail and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $1,067,000 (N439,113,180).

Ayotunde, 39, was sentenced by US District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III on charges of passport fraud, false claim to US citizenship, wire fraud, and false statement to a financial institution.

He had pleaded guilty to the charges on July 1, 2021.

The crimes were committed in the Eastern District of Texas.

In a statement by the US Department of Justice on Thursday, it was revealed that Ayotunde’s crimes were federal criminal offences.

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According to court documents, in June 2018, Ayotunde provided false identifying information in his application for a US passport, and in doing so, also falsely claimed to be a US citizen.

Ayotunde was also involved in falsifying information in connection with numerous applications for Payment Protection Program loans, and ultimately received more than $1 million in fraudulent PPP loan proceeds.

Additionally, evidence showed that Ayotunde was part of a conspiracy to defraud companies through business email compromise schemes and acted as a money mule when he knowingly received and transferred proceeds of fraudulent activity.

Evidence showed that the Nigerian received or attempted to receive more than $800,000 in stolen funds.

A federal grand jury had returned an indictment charging Ayotunde with federal violations on November 13, 2020.

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