A Castro Valley man has been charged in federal court with using pandemic-related unemployment benefits — which he obtained by utilizing the identities of people in another state — for his own personal use, authorities said Friday.
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said Idowu Hashim Shittu, 46, was charged in a criminal complaint that was unsealed Friday. In it, authorities allege Shittu tried to use personal information from other people to obtain unemployment benefits intended for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those benefits were part of the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid that the federal government authorized in March 2020 as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, authorities said. The complaint alleges Shittu submitted requests for benefits and used some of the proceeds for his own personal gain.
Authorities said in the complaint that Shittu was involved in three cases and is charged with three counts of device fraud.
The first incident came in May 2020, when the state of Washington’s employment security department received a request for funds from a resident of Mercer Island, Wash., identified only as “S.O,” along with corresponding birthdate and social security number information.
The subsequent funds went on a reloadable debit card that was accessed at ATMs in San Jose, Hayward, and Castro Valley, authorities said. “S.O.” subsequently told authorities he had not been in California at any point in 2020, authorities said.
Two similar scenarios took place after similar benefit cards were issued to Washington residents in Olympia and Seattle, authorities said.
Shittu faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison for each count. He appeared in federal court in San Francisco on Friday and is next scheduled to appear Monday.
Source: www.mercurynews.com