A United States District Court in Maryland, Baltimore has sentenced a 29-year-old Nigerian national, Temitope Bashua, to 30 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for his involvement in a scam related to unemployment insurance benefits.
Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher handed down the sentence on November 20, 2025 after Bashua admitted his role in a conspiracy and scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — a federal law enacted in March 2020 — provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Established by the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program — administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA) — along with the EIDL, helped businesses meet their financial obligations. An EIDL advance does not have to be repaid, and small businesses can receive an advance, even if they are not approved for an EIDL loan. The maximum advance amount is $10,000.
According to his plea agreement, and other court documents, from May 2020 through September 2022, Bashua and others conspired to impersonate victims to obtain money by submitting fraudulent UI benefits claims.
Bashua and his co-conspirators used the personally identifiable information (PII) without the victims’ knowledge or consent, to submit fraudulent applications for UI benefits in Maryland and California.
Additionally, in October 2020, as a part of the conspiracy, co-conspirators submitted two fraudulent EIDL applications to the SBA for fictitious businesses using the PII of identity victims.
As a result of the fraudulent EIDL applications, Bashua received more than $290,000 in U.S. Treasury funds from the SBA.
Bashua also admitted his involvement in other schemes, including cyber intrusion, romance fraud, and business email compromise fraud schemes.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), Acting Special Agent in Charge Evan Campanella, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Baltimore, and Joseph V. Cuffari Ph.D., Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security (DHS-OIG).
