Former USUSA Club President sentenced to two years in prision for coronavirus fraud scheme

On Aug. 21, former Utah State University Muslim Student Club president Mubarak Sulaiman Ukashat of Kaysville was sentenced to two years of federal prison for fraud scheme, identity theft and wire fraud. The facility of his incarceration has not yet been publicly announced.

Ukashat was born in Nigeria, coming to America to pursue a doctorate in physics in 2015. He became a lawful permanent resident shortly after arrival. He led the club in 2020 and reportedly used its USUSA bank account to send around $333,900 of coronavirus relief funds through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, EIDL, Program. He was living in Taylorsville at the time of the crime.

According to the press release of the sentencing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Utah on Aug. 21, he submitted four fraudulent EIDL applications to the Small Business Administration using the names of four people he had no connection to, directing the money to the club bank account he had control over.

“Ukashat then used wire transfers to move the EIDL proceeds into another America First Credit Union account, over which he had ownership and control and held jointly with a relative before spending the funds on unauthorized personal expenses,” the press release stated.

In addition to the EIDL funds, Ukashat fraudulently obtained state unemployment insurance benefits totaling $58,927. He spent the money on car and debt payments and transferred over $100,000 outside of the United States to individuals in Nigeria and Dubai.

In addition, Ukashat was sentenced to three years of supervised release and must pay back the full $392,827.