US authorities have auctioned a luxury wristwatch and a necklace seized from Abidemi Rufai, a former Ogun State official who served a prison sentence in the United States for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Rufai was sentenced to prison on 26th September 2022, by the US District Court for Western Tacoma in Washington. He pleaded guilty to defrauding 12 US agencies of approximately $600,000 through stolen identities, including nearly $500,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits.
As part of his plea agreement, Rufai agreed to pay full restitution of $604,260 to the defrauded agencies.
To help recover these funds, the US government recently sold a Cartier watch and a gold chain necklace seized from Rufai during his arrest.
“The United States sold the watch and necklace via online auction through Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers, Appraisers, and Realty,” stated US Attorney Nicholas Brown in a court filing. “The winning bids were $4,720.00 and $3,160.00, respectively. After deducting auction fees and shipping costs, the net proceeds were $7,086.69.”
These proceeds were applied towards Rufai’s restitution debt, leaving him with an outstanding balance of $597,573.31.
Rufai was released from prison in mid-November 2024, but his current whereabouts remain unknown.
