Politics
Nigerian-born engineer years in US $1.64 million contract fraud
A NIGERIAN-BORN engineer and former building inspector with the City of St. Louis, Banjo Popoola, has pleaded guilty in the United States to orchestrating a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that diverted public funds meant to rehabilitate dilapidated homes into financing a lavish lifestyle, including his Hawaii wedding, luxury vehicles and casino gambling.
Popoola, 57, admitted before a US District Court in St. Louis on Tuesday that he fraudulently steered contracts worth millions of dollars to companies secretly controlled by his sister and his second wife, siphoning at least $1.64 million intended for housing rehabilitation programmes.
According to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), the stolen funds were spent on residential mortgage payments, multiple vehicle purchases and repairs, travel, his September 2023 wedding in Hawaii, casino gambling, dining and other personal expenses.
The guilty plea marks a dramatic turn in a case that exposed how a public official entrusted with overseeing construction projects exploited his position for personal gain while concealing his financial interests from city authorities.
Prosecutors said Popoola deliberately hid his links to the companies by falsely declaring on City Employee Secondary Employment Questionnaires in 2022 and 2023 that he had no personal or indirect interest in businesses contracting with the City of St. Louis.
Investigators said his sister, who lives in Texas and had never visited St. Louis, incorporated Farst Construction LLC in Missouri in October 2022. His future wife established Premier Finish Contractors LLC in February 2021.
Between June 2023 and November 2024, Popoola caused Farst Construction to receive approximately $1.4 million in contracts under the city’s Stable Communities STL programme. He also directed $339,500 in contracts from the Prop NS programme to the same company.
In addition, prosecutors said that between October 2023 and May 2024, Popoola channelled about $1.3 million in Stable Communities STL contracts and another $853,100 in Prop NS contracts to Premier Finish Contractors.
Federal authorities alleged that the companies existed primarily as vehicles through which Popoola diverted public funds while maintaining control behind the scenes.
The DoJ said the accused would be sentenced on October 6. His conviction for wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. He will also be required to repay the stolen funds.
The guilty plea follows a federal grand jury indictment unsealed in March, which accused Popoola of manipulating the city’s contracting process by awarding lucrative construction projects to businesses linked to his family members in exchange for kickbacks that financed his extravagant lifestyle.
The ICIR reported in May that a US court sentenced a Nigerian professor, Nkechy Ezeh, to nearly six years in prison for masterminding a massive fraud scheme that diverted more than $1.4 million intended to help low-income preschool children in West Michigan.
Chief US District Judge Hala Jarbou delivered the ruling and condemned the 61-year-old Founder of Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative, calling her a fraud and a thief.
The court ordered Ezeh to repay $1.4 million to fraud victims, an additional $390,174 to the Internal Revenue Service and to be taken into custody immediately to begin serving her prison sentence.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.
