An Indianapolis man, Temitope S. Adeboye, has been sentenced to over four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and other offenses involving false identification of documents. U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Young also ordered the retention of supervision by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from prison and the repatriation of $804,460.54.

From an unspecified date until at least Aug. 6, 2020, Adeboye illegally obtained and used the State of Nevada’s unemployment debit cards under the names of identity theft victims. Many of these individuals had not applied for unemployment benefits, and in some cases, victims only discovered that their identities had been stolen and used to claim benefits when they tried to apply themselves.

Adeboye used these fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits debit cards to purchase money orders and other valuable items. To confirm his identity at cash registers, Adeboye utilized counterfeit IDs under the names of the victims. He also used money orders, bought with the stolen unemployment benefits, to purchase a Lexus car.

During his arrest in August 2023 by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers for operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license, officers found 96 unemployment debit cards issued by the State of Nevada, a Kroger receipt for $1,501.76, multiple money orders issued by Western Union, U.S. Postal Service, and MoneyGram, and U.S. currency amounting to $76,680. Additionally, Adeboye was found with approximately 32 fake driver’s licenses from Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, with some under the same stolen identities as the unemployment debit cards.

The fraudulent use of the 96 debit cards led to more than 5,000 transactions at various retailers and financial institutions. The Federal Bureau of Investigations, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and IMPD handled the investigation, with U.S. Attorney Kyle Sawa taking charge of prosecution.