Federal prosecutors have charged Yusuf Akoll, a senior contract specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with fraudulently obtaining federal COVID relief funds through a fake business.
According to court documents obtained by Wired, Akoll allegedly created a fictitious company, Naagode Consulting LLC, and used it to secure two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling $16,666 between March and August 2021. Prosecutors say he falsely claimed the company operated in early 2020 and had earned $40,000 in 2019, when it had no income or real operations.
The scheme exploited the government’s pandemic-era “pay and chase” approach, which distributed emergency funds rapidly with minimal upfront vetting.
In 2023, the Biden administration announced it would not pursue repayment of PPP loans under $100,000 in many cases, citing equity concerns. However, loans could still be investigated for fraud or misuse.
Most PPP loans were designed to be forgiven if used properly, but Akoll’s filings failed to meet legal requirements.
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