Pennsylvania man charged with attempting to defraud the 2022 PFD

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A Pennsylvania man was criminally charged by information today with seven counts of wire fraud connected to a 2022 Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) fraud scheme.

According to court documents, beginning in January 2022 and continuing through February 2022, Adepoju Babatunde Salako, 33, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, allegedly devised a scheme to defraud the Alaska Department of Revenue (DOR) PFD program. Specifically, Salako fraudulently obtained the personal identifying information (PII) for legitimate Alaskan residents and submitted seven separate applications to the Alaska DOR to obtain their PFD funds. Salako was never an Alaskan resident and has never traveled to Alaska.

Court documents detail that Salako allegedly created new email accounts that he controlled for each legitimate Alaska resident whose PII he fraudulently obtained. Using the PII, Salako allegedly gained control of at least seven already established "myAlaska" online accounts-the platform Alaska residents use to apply for the PFD. Once inside the accounts, Salako allegedly changed the account information to route communications from "myAlaska" directly to the email accounts he controlled for each individual. Salako also allegedly changed each applicant's bank information to route the PFD payments to bank accounts he controlled.

Court documents further allege that Salako tried to shield his identity and location by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to appear as though six of the seven application submissions were submitted from an Internet Protocol (IP) address in Alaska. The other application was submitted using an IP address in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Records from Salako's personal email account showed logins from the same Philadelphia IP address.

The State of Alaska determined the applications to be fraudulent and denied the applications.

Salako faces up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman of the District of Alaska, Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office and Acting Commissioner Janelle Earls of the Alaska Department of Revenue made the announcement.

The FBI Anchorage Field Office and State of Alaska Department of Revenue, Criminal Investigations Unit investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ainsley McNerney is prosecuting the case.

If you suspect you've been a victim of PFD fraud, contact the Alaska Department of Revenue, Criminal Investigations Unit. Online Fraud Tips can be filed at https://pfd.alaska.gov/fraud-tip-form. You can also contact the Fraud Hotline: (907) 500-0360.

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