A federal jury deliberated less than an hour before finding a McDonough man, Bernard Okojie, guilty on multiple charges for leading a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funding.
Okojie, age 41, was found guilty after a three-day trial of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Wire Fraud, and Money Laundering Conspiracy. The guilty verdict subjects Okojie to statutory penalties of up to 30 years in prison, along with up to $1 million in financial penalties and up to five years of supervised release after completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
As described in trial and in court documents, Okojie used information for non-existent companies to file at least 24 fraudulent applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program loans for himself and others from April 2020 through May of 2021, seeking millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds for himself and others. Okojie received the funding directly, or was paid by other recipients of the fraudulently obtained funding for his work in submitting the EIDL applications. Okojie then conspired to launder the fraudulent proceeds to hide the source of the funds.
Funds from the more than $1.4 million Okojie and others received through the schemes were used to purchase a home, vehicles, shopping trips to Versace, for personal investments, and a toy poodle. Okojie also was intercepted as he attempted to carry nearly $40,000 in undeclared cash on a plane from Atlanta to Nigeria.
Sentencing before U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood will be scheduled upon completion of a pre-sentence investigation by U.S. Probation Services.