Adepoju Babatunde Salako, identified as the Philadelphia coordinator of the pro-Tinubu support group “Relax Tinubu Is Fixing Nigeria (Promises to Progress),” has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in the United States after pleading guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud linked to an Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend fraud scheme.
Salako, 33, was sentenced by a U.S. court after admitting to orchestrating a fraudulent operation aimed at illegally obtaining funds meant for residents of Alaska through identity theft and online fraud.
According to court documents released by U.S. authorities, Salako obtained the personal identifying information of legitimate Alaska residents and used the stolen identities to submit fraudulent applications for Permanent Fund Dividend payments administered by the Alaska Department of Revenue.
Investigators disclosed that between January and February 2022, Salako submitted seven fraudulent applications using the identities of genuine Alaska residents in an attempt to divert the payments into bank accounts linked to him.
Authorities noted that Salako had never lived in Alaska and had not visited the state until he appeared there for sentencing.
Court records further showed that he created several fake email accounts connected to the identities he allegedly stole. Prosecutors said he used the information to gain unauthorized access to at least seven existing “myAlaska” online accounts, the official platform used by residents to apply for Permanent Fund Dividend benefits.
After gaining access, Salako allegedly altered account information so official correspondence from the portal would be redirected to email addresses under his control. He also reportedly changed banking details on the accounts in an effort to divert approved payments to himself.
Investigators said Salako attempted to conceal his identity and location by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to make it appear as though six of the seven fraudulent applications originated from internet protocol addresses within Alaska.
However, authorities said one of the applications was traced to an IP address in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Records from Salako’s personal email account also reportedly showed login activity tied to the same Philadelphia IP address, linking him directly to the scheme.
The Alaska Department of Revenue eventually detected irregularities in the applications and flagged them before any payments were released.
Officials stated that each eligible Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend recipient in 2022 was entitled to receive $3,284. Authorities estimated that the scheme could have diverted approximately $22,988 if successful.
Salako pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud.
The court ordered that the 18-month prison sentence would run concurrently with an existing sentence imposed in a separate criminal case in the District of Colorado.
In the Colorado case, Salako had earlier been sentenced to six-and-a-half years imprisonment for his role in a COVID-19 relief fraud and international money laundering scheme. He was also ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution.
Reacting to the conviction, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska said authorities would not tolerate attempts to defraud the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend programme.
“Mr. Salako spent considerable time planning and perpetrating his scheme to defraud the Alaska PFD,” Heyman said.
“Thanks to the great work of the Alaska Department of Revenue and FBI, he didn’t succeed; but even attempting to defraud the PFD will not be tolerated and could result in federal prison.”
Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schlegel of the FBI Anchorage Field Office said the programme was designed to benefit eligible residents and not fraudsters seeking to exploit public funds through identity theft.
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“The Alaska PFD programme is intended to benefit current and future generations of eligible Alaskans, not criminals like Salako who seek to exploit the programme through fraud and identity theft,” Schlegel stated.
He added that despite efforts to conceal his identity, investigators were able to track and identify him through “strong programme safeguards and diligent investigative work.”
Scott Stair, Investigations Manager with the Criminal Investigations Unit of the Alaska Department of Revenue, also warned that authorities would continue to pursue individuals involved in identity theft and financial fraud targeting the dividend programme.
“This case should send a clear message that stealing an identity to exploit the Permanent Fund Dividend will not be tolerated,” Stair said.
The investigation was jointly carried out by the FBI Anchorage Field Office and the Criminal Investigations Unit of the Alaska Department of Revenue, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Ainsley McNerney prosecuted the case.
