Nigerian Socialite Jailed In U.S. For $1.3 Million COVID-19 Fraud Scheme

A Nigerian socialite, Abiola Femi Quadri, has been sentenced to 11 years and three months in a U.S. federal jail for orchestrating a $1.3 million COVID-19 unemployment and incapacity fraud scheme.

Quadri, 43, who lived in Pasadena, California, was sentenced on Thursday, July 10, 2025, by U.S. District Decide George H. Wu. Along with the 135-month jail time period, he was ordered to pay $1.35 million in restitution and a $35,000 high quality

In accordance with courtroom paperwork, Quadri exploited stolen identities to file over 100 fraudulent claims with unemployment businesses in California and Nevada in the course of the peak of the pandemic. He used the proceeds to finance the development of a luxurious lodge and procuring complicated in Nigeria.

Investigators revealed that between 2021 and his arrest in September 2024 at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport, Quadri systematically withdrew the stolen funds from ATMs throughout California and wired at the least $500,000 overseas. He was intercepted whereas trying to board a flight to Nigeria.

The illegally diverted funds helped bankroll the event of “Oyins Worldwide,” a 120-room resort complicated in Nigeria that incorporates a mall, nightclub, and different upscale facilities. Quadri didn’t disclose possession of the property in his obligatory courtroom monetary disclosure.

Authorities additionally discovered 17 counterfeit checks value over $3.3 million on Quadri’s telephone, alongside messages detailing plans to money them utilizing shell firms registered beneath numerous aliases. In non-public communications, he admitted to coming into right into a sham marriage to acquire U.S. everlasting residency—confessing to the fraud in texts with a girl who was not his authorized partner.

Quadri additionally ran a enterprise known as Rock of Peace in Altadena, California, which was contracted by the state to supply look after developmentally disabled youngsters. Throughout a search of his residence, legislation enforcement brokers uncovered food-aid debit playing cards meant for the youngsters, suggesting extra monetary misappropriation.

The case was the results of a joint investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Safety Investigations, and the California Employment Improvement Division. Assistant U.S. Lawyer Andrew Brown of the Main Frauds Part prosecuted the case.