Three Nigerians based in the United States — Kamaldeen Karaole, Stephen Olamigoke, and Johnson Omodusonu — have been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for defrauding the US of $520,910 in a COVID-19 unemployment benefits scheme.

One of the convicts also agreed to be deported to Nigeria upon completing his jail term.

A statement obtained from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday that the trio, in 2020, stole no fewer than 168 Unemployment Insurance debit cards belonging to other people.

According to the statement, court documents revealed that between August and October 2020, the convicts, in connivance with other suspects outside the US, used the stolen debit cards and passwords to file false unemployment benefits claims.

The statement added that 98 of the cards were used to withdraw cash from various Automated Teller Machines across the US.