A former employee of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been sentenced to federal prison for orchestrating a sophisticated scheme to defraud COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. Simeon Bakare, a 56-year-old resident of Waldorf, Maryland, was found to have illegally secured over $176,000 intended to support businesses struggling during the global health crisis.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang handed down a sentence of six months in federal prison, which will be followed by three years of supervised release, including a mandatory two-month period of home detention. In addition to the incarceration, the court ordered Bakare to forfeit the $176,000 obtained through the scheme and pay full restitution in the same amount. The conviction stems from a wire-fraud charge linked to the illicit misuse of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provisions.
The investigation into Bakare’s activities was spearheaded by the USAID Office of Inspector General, in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. The case forms a component of the broader federal initiative championed by the administration to identify and eliminate fraud within government benefit programs.
Court records indicate that between April 2020 and November 2021, Bakare knowingly manipulated the Small Business Administration (SBA) systems. He admitted to filing multiple fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). To legitimize these claims, he utilized fabricated documentation, including forged IRS tax forms and false certifications regarding the existence of sole proprietorships. Investigations revealed that the entities listed in his applications were entirely fictitious, lacking any legitimate staff, physical office space, operational revenue, or business expenses.
Bakare confessed to diverting the illicit proceeds toward personal expenditures, including mortgage and vehicle payments, as well as routine grocery costs. Having entered a guilty plea for wire fraud on June 3, 2026, he now faces the consequences of exploiting a program specifically designed to safeguard the economic stability of American citizens during an unprecedented national emergency.
This prosecution aligns with the ongoing efforts of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, a body recently established by the Department of Justice to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who exploit federal relief initiatives. The efforts are overseen by a task force chaired by Vice-President JD Vance, aimed at curbing waste and abuse across all federal assistance programs.
Source: NaijaProbe