Nigerian guy arrested in Bloomington for stealing COVID relief funding from 4 states

Bloomington, Indiana – After admitting to stealing more than $197,000 in unemployment benefits provided under the 2020 Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a 31-year-old Nigerian man was sentenced to three years in federal prison.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Daniel Jibunor stole the identities of at least ten persons and submitted false unemployment claims in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Illinois. Jibunor would withdraw money from ATMs and buy money orders at other stores like Kroger, Walmart, and the U.S. Post Office using the jobless debit cards.

On September 11, 2020, Jibunor was finally apprehended and detained in a Bloomington Kroger where he was trying to use a phony debit card to buy $1,850 in Western Union money orders. The result of the search by Bloomington police was the discovery of two fraudulent unemployment debit cards, two fraudulent debit cards, a GoBank Green Dot card, about $12,980 in cash, and 21 money orders totaling $19,540.

Jibunor defrauded the unemployment offices in California, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois, and the federal government outright for at least $197,613 in total.

“At the height of the global pandemic, this defendant decided to steal emergency funds intended to be a vital lifeline for families in need,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.

“Stealing identities and relief money during a disaster is a despicable crime that merits serious punishment,” he added. “The federal prison sentence imposed today demonstrates that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to finding the criminals who have defrauded COVID-19 emergency response programs and holding them accountable.”

Jibunor was sentenced to pay the whole sum of the stolen funds back in restitution. Following his release from federal prison, he was additionally mandated to complete a year of probation.