MARYLAND (WBFF) — A man pled guilty to charges stemming from a cross-county unemployment insurance fraud scheme, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office of Maryland.
Akinpelumi Olawale Oyewusi, 60, who was residing in Hyattsville, Maryland, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
From September 2020 through March 2021, officials reported that Oyewusi and others conspired to defraud state workforce authorities, including the Maryland Department of Labor and the California Employment Development Department, to obtain fraudulent unemployment insurance funds, according to the guilty plea.
Oyewusi and his co-conspirators used real identities to obtain fraudulent unemployment insurance from Maryland and other states.
After obtaining access to these funds, Oyewusi transferred or withdrew them via electronic transfers or an ATM.
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THE BHI TRUST PONZI SCHEME (SOUTH AFRICA)
Date: Ongoing updates through February 2026 Perpetrator: Craig Warriner (Principal), with alleged co-conspirators
Case Description: The BHI Trust scandal remains one of South Africa’s most devastating financial crimes, involving the loss of between R1.9 billion and R3 billion. Craig Warriner, the “genius trader” behind the trust, turned himself in during late 2023, but the legal and recovery battles reached a fever pitch in 2025 and 2026. Warriner operated the trust as a textbook Ponzi scheme, utilizing “Old Boy” networks and high-profile brokers to lure in pensioners and high-net-worth individuals with promises of 20% annual returns.
In early 2025, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) faced heavy criticism for “provisionally withdrawing” charges against alleged co-conspirators Michael Haldane and Sona Pillay. However, civil recovery efforts by joint trustees have continued into 2026, aiming to claw back hundreds of millions in “fictitious profits” from early investors to redistribute to those who lost everything. The case is a masterclass in the failure of fiduciary duty; the FSCA eventually banned several advisors for up to 30 years for peddling the unlicensed scheme despite clear red flags, such as the lack of a website, the absence of regulated financial reports, and a fee structure that was triple the industry average.
Link to Original: Moneyweb – BHI Trust Scandal Deep Dive