U.S court jails 43-year-old Nigerian for $1.3M COVID fraud used to build hotel, nightclub
U.S. authorities have sentenced Abiola Femi Quadri, a Nigerian national, to 135 months in prison for a $1.3 million COVID-19 relief fund fraud that involved identity theft and false claims for unemployment and disability benefits.
Quadri, 43, who lived in San Gabriel Valley, California, was convicted of submitting over 100 false benefit applications in California and Nevada during the pandemic, using the illicit funds to construct a 120-room luxury resort in Nigeria, complete with a nightclub, mall, and other high-end amenities.
The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge George H. Wu, who also ordered Quadri to pay $1,356,229 in restitution and a $35,000 fine.
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According to a statement released by Ciaran McEvoy, Public Information Officer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California on Thursday, July 10, 2025, Quadri pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
The statement revealed that Quadri withdrew most of the stolen funds from ATMs between 2021 and his arrest in September 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport, where he was attempting to flee to Nigeria. During the scheme, he sent at least $500,000 abroad.
“He also paid for the construction of a 120-room resort hotel in Nigeria, the Oyins International, which includes a nightclub, a mall, and additional high-end amenities,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted. “Quadri failed to disclose his ownership of the hotel as required when completing his financial disclosure to the court.”
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Further investigation uncovered evidence on Quadri’s phone, including 17 counterfeit checks totaling over $3.3 million, and messages discussing how to negotiate the forged checks. Many of these checks were made payable to shell companies set up under his aliases.
Authorities also discovered that Quadri had gained U.S. permanent residency through what he described in private messages as a “fake wedding.”
Adding to the allegations, Quadri had previously operated a daycare center named Rock of Peace in Altadena, California, which received payments from the state for services to developmentally disabled children. However, during a search of his residence, agents found misappropriated food-aid debit cards intended for the children in his care.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the California Employment Development Department Investigation Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Brown of the Major Frauds Section.
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