Breaking: U.S Court Postpones Trial of Suspended Aide of Ogun Governor, Announces New Date
- Governor Dapo Abiodun's aide Abidemi Rufai will spend the remaining months of the year in jail as the commencement of his trial was moved by five months
- The trial for the suspended senior special assistant for alleged conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft has been postponed to 2022
- Rufai was arrested back in May after he was accused of defrauding the U.S. government to the tune of $350,000
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A report by The Nation indicates that a fresh ruling by a United States court has postponed the commencement of Abidemi Rufai's fraud trial to 2022.
This development coming after the prosecutor submitted 97,000-page materials at the U.S District for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma, on Monday, July 26.
Source: Facebook
The trial for the suspended senior special assistant was initially scheduled to begin Tuesday, August 31, but has now been moved to February 1, 2022, Premium Times added.
Tessa M. Gorman, the acting US Attorney had stated that Rufai filed fraudulent unemployment claims using variations of a single email address in a manner intended to evade automatic detection by fraud systems.
Rufai was indicted for alleged conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft following his arrest at the JFK airport in New York back in May over alleged $350,000 COVID-19 unemployment fraud in the US.
The suspect was said to have used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with ESD for pandemic-related unemployment benefits.
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Governor Abiodun suspends aide arrested in US
Recall that after his arrest by the US government, Rufai was suspended by Governor Abiodun.
Reacting through his chief press secretary, Kunle Somorin, the Ogun state governor Abiodun said the news of his aide’s involvement in fraud is disturbing.
Abiodun also condemned any act capable of undermining his determination to institute an open, transparent, accountable and morally upright behaviour in the state and in governance.
Why granting bail to Abidemi Rufai is dangerous - US govt
Earlier, the United States justice department revealed why it would be dangerous to grant bail to Rufai.
A letter to Ramon Reyes, the US magistrate judge in Eastern District of New York, said if Rufai escapes to Nigeria after being granted bail, "extradition will be extraordinarily difficult or impossible because of his ties to the Nigerian government.”
The letter was written by the acting US attorney, Tessa Gorman, as exclusively reported by Premium Times.
Source: Legit.ng
