ATLANTA — A Nigerian national living in Georgia is in trouble for her role in a conspiracy that defrauded two government agencies out of nearly $1 million.
Ivie Shevon Sajere, 38, from Suwanee, has been sentenced to prison for two years and six months for the false filing of thousands of online applications for Social Security Administration (SSA) retirement benefits and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster benefits.
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According to U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine, from June 2017 until September 2018, the defendant and her husband, Neville Sajere, both Nigerian nationals who engaged in marriage fraud in an unsuccessful attempt to become U.S. citizens, participated in a money laundering scheme that defrauded nearly a million dollars from SSA and FEMA.
The scheme involved unknown fraudsters filing applications for Social Security retirement benefits and FEMA disaster relief benefits using stolen personal information. She scammed nearly $700,000 from SSA, alone, according to Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration.
“This was a massive fraud that impacted two government agencies and harmed thousands of victims across the country whose identities were stolen,” said Erskine.
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She stole personal information from people and used it to defraud the SSA by abusing its online services. It appears that victims were targeted because they didn’t file for SSA retirement benefits and did not need disaster benefit relief. Therefore, the fraudsters had a better chance of getting the applications approved.
“This scheme highlights the importance of national collaboration when it comes to combatting identity theft,” said Tommy D. Coke, inspector in charge of the Atlanta division for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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Sajere pleaded guilty on November 30, 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. In addition to Sajere’s two year sentence, she also has to pay $949,616.40 in restitution to SSA and FEMA.
Since she is not a United States citizen, she is likely to be deported after she completes her sentence, according to the Social Security Administration investigation.
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