US: Beninese man sentenced to 84 months for Covid aid fraud
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on La Nouvelle Tribune
A 42-year-old Beninese man, José « Joe » Biaou, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison in the United States for diverting more than $3.5 million from Covid-19 aid programmes (PPP and EIDL). Judge Christopher R. Cooper handed down the sentence on 10 November 2026, according to federal prosecutor Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Federal Judge Christopher R. Cooper sentenced Beninese man José « Joe » Biaou to 84 months in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The sentence was handed down on 10 November 2026 and announced by federal prosecutor Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
José « Joe » Biaou had claimed that Millenium Global Finance had 52 employees and spent more than $520,000 a month on salaries, although the company had neither staff nor any real activity. He had also presented himself as a US citizen using a fake birth certificate based on that of his minor daughter.
A federal jury found him guilty on 17 February 2026 of six counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He will have to serve an additional two years on supervised release and pay $3,417,542.77 in restitution.
