By Sulaimon Jamiu
A 29-year-old Nigerian Man identified as Chidozie Obasi, has been indicted and wanted for defrauding the State of New York of more than $30 Million by posing as ventilator seller during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attorney General of the United States Jacqueline C. Romero, announced that Chidozie Collins Obasi has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, and 16 counts of wire fraud, all stemming from a complicated, evolving fraud scheme that initially targeted Americans through a spam email campaign.
The email first came into action in September 2018, and offers illegitimate “work from home” jobs, and then during the COVID-19 pandemic, shifted to targeting U.S. hospitals and medical systems by offering non-existent ventilators for sale beginning in March 2020.
The defendant and his co-conspirators are alleged to have obtained more than $31,000,000 through this multi-faceted fraud scheme, with the overwhelming majority of that money, over $30 million coming from the State of New York for the intended purchase of ventilators.
The Indictment further alleges that in approximately March 2020, soon after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States and ventilators were in high demand, Obasi posed as a representative of an Indonesian-based medical supply company offering ventilators for sale, and claimed to have a large stockpile of ventilators manufactured by a German company whose headquarters was in Telford, PA.
The defendant allegedly convinced a medical equipment broker in the U.S. to broker sales of these non-existent ventilators, and ultimately deceived the State of New York into wiring more than $30 million for the purchase of ventilators that did not exist.
Later in June 2020, the Indictment alleges that Obasi and his co-conspirators took advantage of the EID Loan program by using stolen identities of U.S. citizens to apply for and obtain more than $135,000 in EID Loan proceeds.
The FBI stated that If caught and convicted, Obasi will face a maximum sentence of 621 years in prison, a five-year period of supervised release, a $5,750,000 fine, and also will be required to make full restitution of the more than $31,000,000 that he obtained by fraud.
“An Indictment, Information, or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty”, FBI said.
