Castro Valley Man Charged In $1M Fraud Scheme: U.S. Attorney

Castro Valley CA

28 January, 2022

6:20 PM

Description

CASTRO VALLEY, CA — The U.S. Attorney's Office has filed federal charges against Idowu Hashim Shittu, 46, of Castro Valley for allegedly collecting more than $1 million in fraudulent pandemic-related unemployment benefits from several state agencies. The complaint was unsealed on Friday. It alleges that Shittu used the personal information of other people, including social security numbers, to get pandemic-related unemployment benefits. Shittu is charged with three counts of access device fraud and faces up to 15 years in prison for each count, if convicted. A court may also order restitution, fines, supervised release, and other penalties. The U.S. Attorney's Office said that pandemic unemployment benefits from Washington state were accessed here in the Bay Area, including at ATMs in Castro Valley, Hayward, and San Jose. Shittu was captured on surveillance cameras in multiple instances, authorities say. Shittu made his first federal court appearance Friday before United States Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim. His next court appearance is scheduled for Monday. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "The complaint explains that in March of 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the federal government authorized the payment of hundreds of billions of dollars in unemployment benefits to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and, since then, many state authorities responsible for distributing those unemployment benefits to their residents have been inundated by fraudulent claims," said a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. "According to the complaint's allegations, Shittu fraudulently submitted requests for such benefits and then used some of those proceeds for his own personal gain." Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Paulson and Kevin Rubino are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Soana Katoa and Mark DiCenzo.