Prosecutors: How one group swindled $8 million designated for hurricane and wildfire victims

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Public Safety

How one group swindled $8 million designated for hurricane and wildfire victims, according to prosecutors

By Lynh Bui
Reporter focusing on public safety and criminal justice
August 5 at 12:45 PM

The money was supposed to be for those who needed to rebuild their lives. ... In the wake of massive hurricanes and wildfires that pummeled the United States in recent years, the federal government made relief funds available for those who found themselves uprooted amid the rubble of charred or washed-out homes.

But in Maryland — far from where the California wildfires and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria struck — a group of residents managed to scam the federal government out of $8 million in relief funds designated for those who needed it most, according to prosecutors. Members of the group, prosecutors allege, were part of a scheme that stole the identity of disaster victims and applied for victim benefits — to pay their own rents, buy cars or make personal purchases.

“While many come forward in the wake of disasters to help selflessly, some use disasters to enrich themselves through theft and fraud,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur said in a statement Friday announcing the arrest of two men in the alleged conspiracy.

John Irogho, 38, of Upper Marlboro, is expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on Monday and has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to federal prosecutors. Odinaka Ekeocha, 33, of Laurel, has been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Their arrests come a few weeks after another Maryland man, Tare Stanley Okirika, 30, of Laurel, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, admitting that he fraudulently obtained government benefits to pay his rent and for other expenses, according to court documents.
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Lynh Bui is a local reporter covering Prince George's County police, fire and courts. She joined The Washington Post in 2012 and has previously covered Montgomery County education. Follow https://twitter.com/ByLynhBui

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Another much of deplorables.

[FakeNoose]

2. This explains how they did it (from the OP)

According to the two-count indictment, from 2016 through 2018 Irogho and several co-conspirators purchased hundreds of Green Dot debit cards, which co-conspirators then registered with Green Dot using the stolen personal information of identity theft victims from around the country. In 2017, amidst Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the California wildfires, co-conspirators allegedly applied online with FEMA for CNA using the stolen personal information of additional victims of identity theft. According to the indictment, FEMA paid at least $8 million in amounts of $500 per claim to the Green Dot debit cards purchased by Irogho and his co-conspirators.

In addition to filing false disaster-assistance claims with FEMA, the indictment alleges that co-conspirators also filed false claims online for Social Security benefits, for IRS tax refunds, and for Department of Labor unemployment and disability benefits using the stolen identities of multiple additional individuals, including name, address, Social Security Number (“SSN”), and other personal identifiers.

You'd think people in Maryland would be suspicious of local people submitting Green Dot debit cards for payment on a regular basis. This went on for over 2 years before they were caught.