Nigerian Man Sentenced to 60 Months for ID Theft Fraud

United States Attorney Paula D. Silsby announced today that Olumide Adeola Pidan, 30, a native of Nigeria, was sentenced to a total of 60 months in prison for convictions on one count of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. United States District Judge George Z. Singal imposed the sentence following Pidan’s guilty plea on November 20, 2009 to one count of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Those convictions were based upon a scheme in which Pidan hijacked the identities and bank accounts of victims, inflated those accounts with credit, and transferred money out of the victim accounts into his own bank accounts where he spent the money on himself and his friends.

Court documents reveal that Pidan moved to Maine in January of 2007 in order to pursue a medical degree. He opened bank accounts at a local bank branch office in Windham and deposited little, if any, of his own money into those accounts. Pidan opened other checking and credit accounts in the names of two real people, using their true dates of birth and Social Security numbers. Pidan opened a UPS box in Spearfish, South Dakota, and used that box as the mailing address for the accounts. Pidan then inflated the values of the victims’ accounts by making a series of bogus payments into their accounts from other fraudulent accounts. He then transferred money from his victims’ credit accounts into their checking accounts. From the checking accounts, Pidan was then able to transfer money in to his own bank accounts. In this way, between about February and about April of 2007, Pidan transferred a total of about $85,000 from the victims’ accounts into his own accounts.

Court documents further reflect that Pidan admitted opening between 80 and 100 bank accounts in other people’s identities at various other banks. He opened mailboxes in places including Fargo, North Dakota and Rapid City, South Dakota to be used as mailing addresses in connection with the scheme.