Ex-fraud investigator for NYC Dept. of Homeless Services gets 27 months for COVID scam
A former fraud investigator for the New York City Department of Homeless Services will spend 27 months in prison for stealing and selling homeless people's personal information during the COVID pandemic.
Brooklyn resident Olabanji Otufale, 41, accessed the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and photos of city homeless people, then sold that information to Marc Lazarre, an identity thief who used their IDs to apply for COVID unemployment relief.
A Brooklyn Federal Court judge sentenced Otufale on Wednesday.
The victims had given the city their names and info to apply for social services like beds in homeless shelter and food stamps.
In October 2020, Otufale accessed a DHS database, took photos of the ID info he saw, and texted those pics to Lazarre.
Lazarre, 39, of New Jersey, then tried to file for unemployment insurance in the victims' names, but he wasn't always successful — some of his marks had already filed for unemployment, according to court filings. In fact, he only managed to score a measly $182 in pilfered benefits, according to prosecutors.
When his claims got rejected, he asked Otufale for new names, telling him in one text, 'smfh [shaking my f—ing head] told you these bums b on it.'
Otufale and Lazarre were taking advantage of the federal CARES act, an economic stimulus package set up in the early days of the pandemic that provided more than $2 trillion in emergency COVID relief.
'The defendant abused his position of trust as a fraud investigator to access and steal vulnerable homeless victims' personal identifying information for his personal benefit,' U.S. Attorney John J. Durham said.
Otufale and Lazarre pleaded guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in July, the same day jury selection was supposed to start in their trial.
Lazarre has a history of identity theft and forgery convictions dating back to 2015, and at one point he took out a lease in a dead person's name, according to the feds.
He's slated to be sentenced in March.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Khaby Lame: World's biggest TikTok star leaves US after being detained by ICE
Khaby Lame, the world's most popular TikTok personality, has left the US after being detained by federal agents. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson said the Senegalese-Italian influencer - who has 162.2m followers on TikTok - was detained on Friday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas after he "overstayed the terms of his visa". The 25-year-old had arrived in the US on 30 April, the ICE spokesperson added, and was allowed to leave the country without a deportation order by a voluntary departure. Those with a deportation order on their records can be prevented from being allowed back into the US for up to a decade. While in the US, Lame - whose legal name is Seringe Khabane Lame - attended the Met Gala and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala in New York City. He became famous online during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he would react to complicated life hack videos without saying a word. With millions of followers, he signed a multi-year partnership with designer brand Hugo Boss in 2022, and was appointed as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in January this year. Read more: He has not publicly commented on his detention, and has continued posting on TikTok since. Sky News has approached his representatives for comment.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Car drives through anti-ICE protesters as Chicago joins nationwide anti-ICE unrest amid Trump crackdown
A car drove through a crowd of demonstrators Tuesday night as hundreds of anti-ICE protesters gathered in Downtown Chicago. The protests in Chicago come as Los Angeles has faced days of unrest. Protests in LA started on June 7, with rioters burning cars, throwing objects and fireworks at police, smashing the windows of the LAPD's headquarters and looting stores. Tuesday's footage from Fox 32 Chicago shows what appeared to be a woman driving through the Chicago demonstrators walking with signs and biking on Wabash and Monroe. A police officer attempted to hit the window of the moving vehicle in an apparent attempt to get the driver to stop, but it kept moving, FOX 32 reported. It is unclear if anyone was injured during the incident. Dozens Of Anti-ice Rioters Arrested In La As Trump Sends In National Guard To Quell Violence Read On The Fox News App The Chicago Police Department told Fox News Digital on Tuesday evening that they were waiting to hear from responding officers when asked if the car's driver would face charges for driving through protesters. While most Chicago protesters were peaceful on Tuesday, some demonstrators clashed and vandalized police vehicles, and public transportation was temporarily suspended downtown, FOX 32 reported. La News Anchor Claims People Are Having 'Fun' Watching Cars Burn, Riots 'Relatively Peaceful' Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez noted on X that multiple police cars had been vandalized. "I guess we haven't learned," he wrote in one Tuesday evening post. Rioters Smash Windows At Lapd Headquarters As Anti-ice Agitators Clash With Authorities "I'm so sick of anarchy apologists and their 'It's not violent, just property damage bro' bull----," he said in another. An earlier protest Tuesday was part of a campaign called "From LA to Chicago: ICE Out!" according to FOX 32. "I just think it's not right what's going on right now … people are being snatched off the street, so you just gotta do something about it," Benjamin Rose, one of the protesters, told the outlet. Demonstrator Steals Police Car During Anti-deportation Protest In Arizona Demonstrations have been popping up across the country, from Asheville, North Carolina, to Chicago to Los Angeles, where unrest broke out over the weekend following a raid. The Department of Homeland Security said ICE raids in LA over the weekend resulted in "hundreds of illegal aliens [being] arrested by ICE officers and agents," including "many with a criminal history and criminal convictions." DHS listed more information about 19 suspects that ICE Los Angeles arrested on June 7 who are accused of crimes ranging from robbery to second-degree murder to rape. "America's brave ICE officers are removing the worst of the worst from LA's streets, while LA's leaders are working tirelessly against them," DHS said in a Sunday statement as riots continued through the article source: Car drives through anti-ICE protesters as Chicago joins nationwide anti-ICE unrest amid Trump crackdown
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jailed Wisconsin Man Fooled ICE Barbie With Forged Death Threats Against Trump
A Milwaukee man awaiting trial on criminal robbery charges had an interesting defense strategy: framing one of his victims for threatening to murder President Trump. On Monday, Demetric D. Scott, 42, who was already in jail on charges of armed robbery and aggravated battery, was charged with witness intimidation, identity theft, and bail jumping after police discovered he'd forged several letters threatening the president's life under the name of Ramón Morales-Reyes. Scott admitted to police that he'd forged the letters not because he had any interest in harming the president, but because he'd hoped they would lead to the deportation of Morales-Reyes, who was set to testify at his upcoming robbery trial. Scott was arrested in 2023 after being captured on a Ring camera stabbing Morales-Reyes with a corkscrew while attempting to steal his bike, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. The phony letters already made national headlines when DHS Secretary Kristi Noem publicly celebrated the arrest of Morales-Reyes, despite police quickly expressing suspicion that the letters had been forged. According to Milwaukee police, on May 21, the offices of the Wisconsin Attorney General, Milwaukee Police Chief, and Milwaukee ICE headquarters each received handwritten letters signed in Morales-Reyes' name and with his home listed as the return address, containing threats against the president's life. The letters read in part, 'I will self deport myself back to Mexico, but not before I use my 30 yard 6 [rifle] to shoot your precious president in his head—I will see him at one of his big ralleys.' The following day, on May 22, police arrested Morales-Reyes, 54. He was quickly transferred into DHS custody due to his undocumented status. The arrest earned praise from Noem, who wrote, 'Thanks to our ICE officers, this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump is behind bars.' However, Milwaukee police weren't certain they had the right man. Not only did a handwriting test quickly reveal that Morales-Reyes' penmanship didn't match the letters, but they also discovered he is not fluent in English. When asked if someone may have a motive to frame him for the crime, Morales-Reyes mentioned his plans to testify against Scott. Upon further investigation, police discovered that Scott had made explicit plans to forge and mail the letters in recorded jail phone calls dating back nearly a month, NBC News reported. In one call, made five days before the letters were received, Scott said, 'This dude is a goddamn illegal immigrant and they just need to pick his ass up… if he gets picked up by ICE, there won't be a jury trial, so they will probably dismiss it that day. That's my plan.' Since his arrest, Scott has had a pattern of mischievous letter-writing. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in an August 2024 letter to Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Kristy Yang, the judge presiding over his case, Scott had threatened to turn her courtroom 'into a circus,' adding, 'This case will never make it to jury trial.' After Morales-Reyes identified Scott as a suspect in the forgery, police searched his jail cell, finding a pen matching the ink used in the letters, an envelope, and a note Scott had written reminding himself to find out the address of the attorney general's office. Scott eventually confessed during police questioning on May 30. However, Morales-Reyes remains in ICE custody at Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, and is now facing removal proceedings. Responding to initial reports that the letters were forged, a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Beast last week that Morales-Reyes will remain in custody because he was 'determined to be in the country illegally and [has] a criminal record.' According to a DHS press release, Morales-Reyes has previously been arrested for felony hit and run, criminal damage to property, and disorderly conduct with a domestic abuse modifier. The press release also claimed Morales-Reyes entered the U.S. illegally nine times between 1998 and 2005. Morales-Reyes' attorney, Kime Abduli, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that because he is still a witness in Scott's robbery trial, which is set for July 14, Morales-Reyes is in the process of applying for a U-visa, which allows undocumented immigrants to remain in the country if they are testifying in a criminal case.
