BK Fraud Investigator Commits COVID Fraud: Feds

BROOKLYN, NY — A city Department of Homeless Services fraud investigator from Brooklyn stole homeless people’s personal information — and sold it to another individual, who then tried to make fraudulent unemployment benefits claims during the COVID pandemic, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Olabanji Otufale, 41, and Mark Lazarre, of New Jersey, were previously indicted on aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges, prosecutors said.

Otufale was arraigned on Wednesday at Brooklyn Federal Court while Lazzare is in Essex County jail in Newark, where he is being held on unrelated charges, prosecutors said.

The 41-year-old man used his position at DHS to access names, addresses, social security numbers and dates of birth of more than ten homeless people, according to an unsealed indictment.

Otufale then sold the information to Lazarre who would try to submit fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance benefits to the New York State Department of Labor,” prosecutors said.

On Oct. 6, 2020, Otufale sent a screenshot of a homeless individual’s state ID containing their personal information to Lazarre as well as screenshots of a social security number, according to the indictment.

Lazzare, then submitted an unemployment insurance benefits claim under the person’s name and was mailed a KeyBank debit card, prosecutors said.

The duo abused the federal Covid-19 CARES Act during their scheme, prosecutors said.

“As soon as the agency was alerted, we immediately instated termination charges should this individual attempt to return to work,"a DSS spokesperson told Fox News. "The actions of this individual are in no way a reflection of the hard work of countless staffers who show up every day and honor the agency’s mission to serve and support tens of thousands of households experiencing homelessness."

Otufale had been working for DHS since 2015, according to a New York Daily News report.

If convicted of aggravated identity theft, the two men face a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, prosecutors said.