A man from Pennsylvania has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud for allegedly attempting to defraud Alaska’s 2022 Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) program. According to court documents, Adepoju Babatunde Salako, 33, of Philadelphia, is accused of obtaining personal information belonging to legitimate Alaskan residents and using it to submit fraudulent PFD applications.
Authorities state that between January and February 2022, Salako created new email accounts for each person whose information he acquired. He allegedly accessed at least seven existing “myAlaska” online accounts—the portal used by residents to apply for the PFD—and changed the account details so communications would be sent to his controlled email addresses. Salako also reportedly altered bank information in these accounts to direct any payments into his own bank accounts.
Investigators say Salako attempted to hide his identity and location by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), making it appear that six out of the seven applications came from an Internet Protocol address in Alaska. The seventh application was submitted from an IP address in Philadelphia, which matched logins from Salako’s personal email account.
The State of Alaska identified all the applications as fraudulent and denied them.
Salako could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count if convicted. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman of the District of Alaska, Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office and Acting Commissioner Janelle Earls of the Alaska Department of Revenue made the announcement.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Anchorage Field Office and the Criminal Investigations Unit at the State of Alaska Department of Revenue. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ainsley McNerney is handling prosecution.
Anyone who suspects they have been a victim of PFD fraud is encouraged to contact the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigations Unit or file an online tip at https://pfd.alaska.gov/fraud-tip-form. There is also a Fraud Hotline available at (907) 500-0360.
