PROVIDENCE – A Rhode Island man has admitted to his part in two international fraud schemes: One that raked in about $70,000 in federal COVID-related unemployment funds, and another that tried to take $80,000 from an Alabama-based property title company, prosecutors said.
In federal court, Obryan Poku, 29, of Providence, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count each of theft of public funds and money laundering, according to US Attorney Zachary Cunha’s Office.
Prosecutors said Poku moved to Rhode Island in June 2021 after living in Texas for two years, and continued to collect pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits from the Texas Workforce Commission.
“On approximately 10 occasions, Poku made fraudulent statements in the course of re-certifying online benefits applications, falsely attesting that he was not receiving any other income, when in fact he was,” Cunha’s Office said in a statement.
In total, Poku subsequently received $14,042 in benefits he was not entitled to, prosecutors said.
Authorities added Poku was also involved in a conspiracy with people in Ghana to launder $70,644 in unemployment benefits provided by the Illinois Department of Economic Security.
“Those benefits were obtained by individuals working with Poku, using the stolen personal identification information of three individuals,” prosecutors said. “The Illinois benefit payments were directed to a bank account controlled by Poku, who then wired a portion of the ill-gotten proceeds to his co-conspirators in Ghana, while keeping a portion for himself.”
In addition, Poku was also involved in another scheme alongside people in Ghana – one in which they worked to defraud a property title company in Mobile, Alabama, prosecutors and court filings show.
According to authorities, Poku or one of his co-conspirators sent an $80,000 check to the business, “purportedly as earnest money for a pending real estate transaction.”
A criminal complaint filed in federal court states the company began working with the group in January 2022 regarding a $1 million property purchase.
However, about two weeks after the check was placed in escrow by the title company, “the co-conspirators sent the company an email stating that the property purchase had fallen through, and requesting that the $80,000 earnest payment be reimbursed to an investment company,” prosecutors said.
The money was transferred to that company’s account, and shortly after that, the title company learned the original check was fraudulent, according to prosecutors.
Investigators later learned the investment company was created by Poku only days before the reimbursement request was made, officials said. The funds in the account were frozen following the transfer, prosecutors said.
“Poku then attempted to access the funds by repeatedly calling the bank and falsely stating that the funds were sent from business partners, and later, by family members,” prosecutors said.
Poku is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 17.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
