Quadri withdrew the fraudulent unemployment and disability benefits at ATMs from 2021 until his arrest in September 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport.
A United States federal court on July 10, 2025, sentenced Abiola Femi Quadri, a Nigerian national and U.S. permanent resident from Pasadena, California, to 135 months (11 years and 3 months) in prison. He was convicted of orchestrating a $1.3 million fraud scheme targeting California and Nevada pandemic unemployment and disability insurance benefits.
Quadri, 43, submitted over 100 fraudulent applications between 2021 and 2024, using stolen identities to claim pandemic aid. He withdrew the fraudulent unemployment and disability benefits at ATMs until his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport in September 2024, where he was preparing to return to Nigeria.
Using at least $500,000 of the proceeds, Quadri financed the construction of a lavish 120-room resort hotel in Nigeria—Oyins International—which also houses a nightclub, mall and other high-end amenities. He failed to disclose ownership of the property in his required court financial disclosures.
Investigators also discovered 17 counterfeit cheques totalling over $3.3 million on Quadri’s phone, some payable to shell companies under aliases. He operated a California daycare business for developmentally disabled children and misused food-aid debit cards meant for beneficiaries. Quadri was also ordered to pay $1,356,229 in restitution plus a $35,000 fine.