The suspended aide Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Abidemi Rufai, will be arraigned on fraud charges before a United States Courthouse, in Tacoma, Washington, on June 8, 2021.
Rufai is to appear before Theresa Fricke, a U.S. magistrate. He is to be charged for allegedly using identity theft as a scheme “to steal over $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department.”
Recall that Rufai was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York while heading to Nigeria on May 14, after which he was suspended by the Ogun State government for his involvement in the crime.
Nine counts of wire fraud and five counts of antagonize identity theft were sanction by the jury against Rufai.
On Monday, Tessa Gorman, the Acting Attorney, informed the suspect’s lawyer, Lance Hester and Micheal Barrows, that Rufai would be prosecuted on June 8th 2021 around 9:00am.
The letter partly read; “It will be necessary that you and your client be present at the time and place indicated above, or via video or teleconference as directed by the Court. The indictment and other documents related to this case are available on the Court’s Electronic Docketing System”
On May 19, 2021, at the end of a custody hearing held, Ramon Reyes, the Magistrate of the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, agreed with the government that Rufai posed “a serious flight risk”, but found that the risk could be addressed by conditions of release, including a $300,000 bond.