Abiola Femi Quadri, a 43-year-old Nigerian national residing in the San Gabriel Valley, United States, has been sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for masterminding a $1.3 million scheme.
Quadri defrauded COVID-19 pandemic unemployment and disability insurance programs in both California and Nevada.
Quadri submitted over 100 fraudulent applications using stolen identities. He then funneled the illicit gains into building a nightclub and a mall in Nigeria.
United States District Judge George H. Wu handed down the sentence, which also includes an order for Quadri to pay $1,356,229 in restitution and a $35,000 fine.
This information was released in a press statement on Thursday, July 10, 2025, by Ciaran McEvoy, Public Information Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California.
Court documents also revealed that Quadri obtained his permanent residency in the United States through what he described in messages to a woman (who was not his wife) as a “fake wedding.”
He pleaded guilty on January 2 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
The statement reads: “Quadri withdrew the fraudulent unemployment and disability benefits at ATMs from 2021 until his arrest in September 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport, where he was scheduled to fly to Nigeria. Quadri sent at least $500,000 abroad during the scheme.
“He also paid for the construction of a 120-room resort hotel in Nigeria, the Oyins International, which includes a nightclub, a mall, and additional high-end amenities.
“Quadri failed to disclose his ownership of the hotel as required when completing his financial disclosure to the court.”
Investigators discovered evidence on his phone, including images of 17 counterfeit checks valued at over $3.3 million and messages discussing how to cash them, with some checks made out to shell companies linked to his aliases.
Quadri had been contracted by California to provide daycare services to developmentally disabled children through his Altadena-based business, Rock of Peace, but agents discovered that he had misappropriated the children’s food aid debit cards during a search of his residence.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the California Employment Development Department Investigation Division, and prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Andrew Brown of the Major Frauds Section.
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