Federal Magistrate court in New York has dismissed bail application of Abidemi Rufai, a Senior Special Assistant to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, charged for $350,000 employment fraud in Washington.
The 42-year-old was arrested on Friday evening on his way back to Nigeria at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York based on criminal complaint.
He was subsequently charged with defrauding Washington State Employment Security Department of over $350,000.
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A statement released by US Department of Justice alleged that Rufai used pseudo names like Sandy Tang and stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
Rufai made his initial court appearance last Saturday in New York and then appeared again on Wednesday, May 18 for a detention hearing.
During the hearing, he asked a federal court to release him to the custody of his brother, Alaba Rufai, who is an attorney in New York, according to federal prosecutors and Abidemi Rufai’s private attorney, Michael Barrows of Garden City, New York.
However, Rufai’s brother told the court that he could not afford the $300,000 “surety” bond that he would have been required to post to ensure that Rufai appeared for his trial, said federal prosecutors and Barrows.
As a result, Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes ordered Rufai to be detained and taken to the Western District of Washington, according to Seattle Times.
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Also, a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in Seattle said;
We’re pleased that the defendant is being detained and will be transported to the Western District of Washington for future court proceedings.
Though Rufai has denied the charges, he risks 30 years in prison if found guilty of wire fraud.
