A United States District Court has sentenced Newton Ofioritse Jemide, a 47-year-old France-based Nigerian, to three years and five months in prison for his role in an $8 million disaster relief fraud scheme.
Jemide was sentenced on Tuesday, July 1, by Judge Deborah K. Chasanow following his extradition from France. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), he pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by illegally obtaining federal aid intended for victims of natural disasters.
The DoJ revealed that Jemide and his co-conspirators stole the identities of American citizens to open Green Dot debit card accounts. These accounts were then used to fraudulently apply for federal emergency assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), mainly related to wildfires between 2016 and 2017.
Operating from Nigeria and France, Jemide coordinated the purchase and registration of hundreds of Green Dot debit cards using stolen identities. Once FEMA approved the claims—typically disbursing $500 per claim—funds were loaded onto the cards. Jemide then instructed U.S.-based accomplices on how and when to withdraw or spend the funds.
To avoid detection, the group used intermediaries to make purchases, issued money orders to third parties and shell companies, and spread transactions across various stores and banks.
In total, the scheme defrauded FEMA and other agencies of at least $8 million.
In addition to his 41-month prison sentence, Jemide was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, pay $520,431 in restitution, and forfeit $311,036 to the U.S. government.
“Newton Ofioritse Jemide, a Nigerian national extradited from France, has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain federal disaster benefits,” the DoJ said in an official statement.
