Gladstone Njokem, age 36, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty on February 3, 2023, to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1.3 million in COVID-19 CARES Act unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Postal Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, of the National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG); Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Special Agent in Charge Andrea Peacock of the U.S. Department of the Treasury – Office of Inspector General.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It expanded states’ ability to provide UI for many workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including for workers who are not ordinarily eligible for unemployment benefits.
According to his guilty plea, from February 2020 through February 2021, Njokem, co-defendants, Martin Tabe and Sylvester Atekwane, and others conspired to impersonate victims in order to obtain money, including by submitting fraudulent claims for UI benefits. Njokem and his co-conspirators collected the personally identifiable information (PII) of victims, without the victims’ knowledge or consent, then shared the PII amongst themselves and with others to facilitate the fraud and then used the victims’ PII to submit fraudulent applications for UI benefits in Maryland, Arizona, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, and Virginia.
In total, at least $1,313,325 in UI benefits, applied for using the names and PII of over 183 victims, are traceable to Njokem’s conspiracy based on common IP addresses, mailing addresses and/or email addresses used for the fraudulent UI claims.
Njokem and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Njokem will be sentenced to between 24 and 70 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for May 17, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.
Co-defendants Martin Tabe, age 34, of Bowie, Maryland and Sylvester Atekwane, age 33, of Hyattsville, Maryland previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the fraud scheme. Judge Bennett has scheduled sentencing for Atekwane on April 13, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. and for Tabe on May 2, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.