ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A Pennsylvania man has been indicted on seven counts of wire fraud in connection with an alleged scheme to steal Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend payments, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. He could face up to $1.75 million in fines if convicted.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska, Adepoju Babatunde Salako, 33, of Philadelphia, fraudulently obtained personal information belonging to Alaska residents and used it to submit seven applications for dividend checks between January and February 2022. Authorities said Salako has never lived in Alaska or traveled to the state.
Prosecutors say Salako created new email accounts to take control of “myAlaska” online profiles, which residents can use to apply for the dividend. He is accused of changing contact and banking information so payments would be redirected to accounts he controlled…