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Fraudsters stole $45.6bn from U.S. COVID fund

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A total of $45.6 billion may have been stolen from the United States’ unemployment insurance programme during the COVID-19 pandemic by fraudsters using different means, including Social Security numbers of dead individuals, a report by Labour Department indicated on Thursday.

The report indicated that an increase of $29.6 billion in potentially fraudulent payments from the programme in addition to about $16 billion in potential fraud identified about a year ago, Reuters reported.

The United States’ jobless aid program started in 2020 in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak.

But the report indicated that fraudsters filed billions of dollars in unemployment claims in many states simultaneously.

Some of them got benefits using the identities of dead people and prisoners who were not eligible for aid.

They also relied on suspicious emails that were hard to trace, the watchdog said in its report.

“We determined 205,766 Social Security numbers of deceased persons were used to file claims for UI (unemployment insurance) pandemic benefits,” the report added.

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Earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department tapped federal prosecutor Kevin Chambers to lead the department’s efforts to help investigate fraudsters who used the pandemic as an excuse to bilk government assistance programs. read more

In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland launched a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The United States is probing many fraud cases pegged to U.S. government assistance programs, such as the Paycheck Protection Program, unemployment insurance and Medicare.

Earlier this week, federal prosecutors charged 47 defendants, who were accused of stealing $250 million from a government aid program that was supposed to feed children in need during the pandemic.

A Minnesota non-profit organization, Feeding Our Future, was accused of orchestrating the plot. Its founder, Aimee Bock, denied wrongdoing.

In March, the Justice Department said it had brought over 1,000 cases of crimes involving jobless benefits during the pandemic.

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Repentant cultists surrender arms in Ogun

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At least 48 repentant cultists in the Sagamu area of Ogun State have surrendered their arms to the Nigeria Police Force and renounced their membership in the various cult groups they belonged to.

The ceremony to profile the repentant cultists and take stock of the arms and ammunition was held at the Palace of the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Adewale Ajayi, in the Sagamu Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday.

Recall that in January two cult groups, Neo Black Movement, popularly called Aye, and the National Association of Airlords, also known as Eiye Confraternity, Sagamu chapter, wrote letters of apologies to the Akarigbo of Remoland, asking him and other traditional rulers in Remoland to forgive them of their wrongdoings.

 

The two groups had, in a viral letter, pleaded for mercy and promised to abide by the laws of the country.

 

While the letter from the Eiye Confraternity was dated December 22, 2023, that of Aye was dated December 26, 2023.

Weapons submitted by the cultists, who have promised to turn a new leaf, include one pump action gun, four double barrels, seven single barrels, two English pistols, four locally made pistols, and 35 cartridges.

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Speaking at the event, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, said the approach of the police to engage in moral persuasion as a way of curbing the incessant cult crises that have ravaged the part of the state led the cultists to renounce their membership and surrender their arms.

 

Alamutu, while urging the repentant cultists not to go back to their old ways, stressed that the police would also work with the Ogun State government and the traditional rulers to convert them into an Anti-Cultism Vanguard that would preach the dangers of cultism to others still engaged in the act.

 

The CP said, “You will recall that last year, this community witnessed disturbing incidences where cultists were on rampage and disturbing the peace of the community that I had to partially relocate to this community.

 

“It was the persistent nature of this crisis that brought the idea of having a second look and approach to the crisis and we thought of using moral persuasion and engagement to see if we can get results and thank God this is the outcome.

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“By giving them this Olive branch, the idea is for them to turn a new leaf. I have had a closed-door meeting with Kabiyesi on how we can engage these youths. Now that we have convinced them that the right thing to do is hard work, we are going to see how we can assist them to be of use to themselves and be our vanguard so that others will have a reason to embrace peace.”

 

In his reaction, Oba Ajayi said the amnesty for the cultists was a result of several engagements and discussions during when many of the cultists regretted their nefarious acts and promised to turn a new leaf.

 

The monarch added, “Not satisfied with the killings and disturbance of these cultists in the town, the community re-strategised and moved against them. The heat was so much that some of them were even forced to leave the town, but they continued to beg, sending emissaries that they were ready to turn a new leaf.

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“We have engaged them and told them point-blank that cultism is not the way forward, that they will only ruin their lives, ruin their family names and the plans of God for their lives.

 

“We told them to submit their weapons and stay away from cultism, and we have promised to integrate them into the society. It is an ongoing exercise, and we hope that their colleagues in other parts of Remoland and Ogun State as a whole will draw a vital lesson and follow suit as well.”

 

He thanked Governor Dapo Abiodun, security agencies, and the Sagamu Security Committee for working round the clock to ensure the success of the amnesty deal for the former cultists.

 

He begged the residents of the community to show the repentant cultists love and support and not treat them as outcasts.

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Police raid kidnappers’ den in Abuja, arrest one

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Men of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command have raided a kidnappers’ den in Jibi forest bordering Dei-dei Abuja and arrested one suspect.

This was disclosed in a statement shared on the command’s X account on Monday by the spokesperson for the command, SP Josephine Adeh.

Adeh said exhibits such as firearms and cows were recovered from the camp.

The statement said, “The operatives of the FCT Police Command, in a continued fight against banditry in FCT, stormed a kidnappers’ den in Jibi forest bordering Dei-dei Abuja on March 23, 2024, at about 6am. On sighting police operatives, the bandits fled from their hideouts to escape arrest.

“The crime prevention operation was carried out on the heels of a credible intelligence that one Mallam Danyaboi and Ilu, gang members and colleagues to one Nasiru Mohammed aka. Danger, who was earlier arrested and paraded by the police command on March 11, 2024, in connection with a series of kidnappings in FCT, had planned a reprisal kidnapping attack in Zuba and its environs for the arrest of their members.

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“Exhibits such as firearms and cows were recovered from the camp.”

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BREAKING: Four killed in Bauchi almsgiving stampede

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Four people have lost their lives in a stampede during an almsgiving zakat exercise for the poor in Bauchi State.

 

The stampede happened at the Shafa Holdings Company plc headquarters along Jos Road, on Sunday at about 10 am.

 

One 17-year-old Naima Abdullahi is currently receiving medical treatment at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi.

 

The police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakili, confirmed the incident and guaranteed that the situation is currently stable.

 

He stated that the police acted swiftly upon hearing the news, and the police commissioner encouraged the public to stay composed.

 

On visiting the scene, the crowd had been dispersed, and police vehicles were stationed in the area.

 

However, a few women are still waiting outside in anticipation of further disbursement.

 

 

 

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