United States of America v. Benedicta Okunlola

Salt Lake City, Utah, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with wire fraud.

Benedicta Okunlola, 32, of Salt Lake City, used her position as a Merchant Growth Specialist to issue 2,343 prepaid gift cards to herself, her online art business, and family members. In her role, she had access to her company’s credit card for marketing promotions and incentives and was the only employee who purchased gift cards from an outside company to offer incentives to commercial customers. The gift cards Okunlola fraudulently purchased for herself and others were kept below the company’s secondary approval thresholds to avoid detection. She spent the gift cards on rent, online shopping, groceries, rideshares, dining out, and trips to South Korea, Japan, South Africa, and Portugal. In total, Okunlola stole $1,398,014 from her employer over the course of four years.

“Okunlola stole from her employer to fund her jet-setting lifestyle,” said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. “It is our hope that her sentence will serve as deterrent from others thinking about engaging in fraud. By teaming up with our law enforcement partners we will continue to investigate and prosecute these cases.”

“Benedicta Okunlola’s actions were not a mistake or a lapse in judgement. It was a deliberate scheme driven by greed,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake City FBI. “The defendant violated a position of trust and caused real financial harm to her employer. This FBI remains committed to investigating complex financial crimes and holding offenders accountable.”

The case was investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Luisa Gough of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.

18 U.S. Code § 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation occurs in relation to, or involving any benefit authorized, transported, transmitted, transferred, disbursed, or paid in connection with, a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), or affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release.