Man fears deportation after sentencing in Maryland COVID-19 fraud scheme involving 600 victims
The final defendant has been sentenced in a fraud scheme that federal prosecutors said stole nearly $3 million in pandemic-related unemployment relief from 600 victims.
Sylvester Atekwane, from Hyattsville, received an 18-month sentence, less than his co-defendants, because he was not the ringleader. He is set to begin serving that sentence early next year.
Atekwane, 32, pleaded guilty in July 2022 to wire fraud in relation to a CARES-Act unemployment insurance fraud scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.
Atekwane's sentencing was originally scheduled for Jan. 6, 2023, but was postponed to Sep. 22, 2025. He was one of three men charged in the scheme.
As part of Atekwane's plea, he must pay at least $250,000 in restitution.
How the scheme worked
The indictment alleged Atekwane and two other defendants obtained social security numbers and birthdates of unwitting victims between February 2020 and February 2021. They then applied for unemployment benefits at the height of the pandemic.
The benefits would be delivered in prepaid debit cards. They would often be mailed to vacant apartments that the defendants could access.
Video obtained by authorities shows Atekwane using some of the cards to obtain money from ATMs.
"I'm so sorry about it," Atekwane said. "My advice is no one should ever think of doing anything like this."
Federal prosecutors said Atekwane defrauded one victim with limited mental capacity who was in his care at a group home.
The overall scheme involved $2.7 million in fraud and 600 victims, the government alleged.
Prosecutors wrote that the defendants were using COVID relief as a "piggy bank to line their own pockets."
Co-defendant Gladstone Njokem got a 54-month sentence. Martin Tabe received 24 months behind bars. Prosecutors said Njokem stole one person's identity while falsely claiming to sell puppies.
"You find yourself among bad company, you can always find yourself in problems," Atekwane told WJZ.
His family is hopeful he will be able to serve his sentence at the federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland.
District court Judge Richard Bennett called the abuse of pandemic aid programs nationwide "shocking" and said, "The whole thing opened up a cookie jar for people to raid at their pleasure."
Deportation fears
Atekwane walked out of Baltimore's federal courthouse to an uncertain future on Monday afternoon.
His lawyer told the judge that, of the millions stolen, Atekwane personally received very little and stands to pay a heavy price.
"He's on the verge of losing everything and possibly his life for $6,000," defense attorney Elizabeth Lopez said. "He will likely be deported to Cameroon. It's a country that embraces torture and murder."
Atekwane said he fled Cameroon, facing death threats years ago. He had been living legally in the United States under resident alien status.
"My prayer is I shouldn't be deported because I really want to stay together with my family, be with my family…because I've learned a lot from this, and I've learned to become a perfect gentleman. If I'm given a chance, then I'll be very grateful," Atekwane told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "I find myself in these unfortunate circumstances. I regret it very much, but I'm just pleading if I can have a chance to stay back in the USA, I will be very grateful because my whole family is here—my kids, my wife. Separation from them is going to cause a lot of trauma."
String of recent fraud cases in Maryland
It's the latest in a string of recent fraud cases prosecuted in Maryland.
On Sep. 17, a former financial services provider from Glen Burnie pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi-style investment scheme, according to the Maryland Attorney General's Office.
On Sept. 18, a Baltimore woman pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in a scheme that defrauded Maryland's unemployment insurance system of more than $250,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal prosecutors said.
Clarence Woods Jr., 62, Woods operated two separate fraudulent schemes while working as a financial services provider, the AG's office said. Woods owes $573,161 in restitution to 16 victims, the AG said.