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A Nigerian man residing in the San Gabriel Valley, Abiola Femi Quadri, received a sentence of 135 months in federal prison for fraudulently claiming $1.3 million in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment and disability insurance benefits from California and Nevada.
At 43 years old, Quadri was discovered to have submitted over 100 fake applications using stolen identities, with the illicit funds being used to develop a nightclub and mall in Nigeria. U.S. District Judge George H. Wu imposed the sentence and also mandated that Quadri pay $1,356,229 in restitution along with a $35,000 fine.
This information was released in a press statement by Ciaran McEvoy, Public Information Officer of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. Quadri, a Nigerian citizen who gained permanent resident status in the U.S. through what he referred to as a “fake wedding” to a woman who was not actually his spouse, pleaded guilty on January 2 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to the statement, Quadri withdrew the fraudulent unemployment and disability benefits from ATMs from 2021 until his arrest in September 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport as he was preparing to fly to Nigeria. During the scheme, he transferred at least $500,000 overseas.
Additionally, he financed the construction of the Oyins International, a 120-room resort hotel in Nigeria, which features a nightclub, a mall, and other luxury amenities.
Quadri neglected to reveal his hotel ownership when he submitted his financial disclosure to the court. Investigators discovered 17 counterfeit checks totaling over $3.3 million on Quadri’s phone, along with messages regarding check negotiations.
Some checks were issued to shell companies linked to Quadri’s aliases. California had compensated Quadri for providing daycare services to developmentally disabled children via his Altadena-based business, Rock of Peace.
When agents searched his home, they uncovered debit cards meant for food aid that had been misappropriated from the children.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the California Employment Development Department Investigation Division, with Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Brown of the Major Frauds Section managing the prosecution.
