A United States-based Nigerian social worker, Akeatha Diane Akintola, has been sentenced to five months’ imprisonment for stealing more than $17,000 in Social Security benefits meant for a disabled child placed under her care in Washington State.
PUNCH Metro learnt from a statement issued on June 18 by the US Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, that Akintola, 48, pleaded guilty to theft of public funds after unlawfully diverting $17,638 intended for a minor with intellectual disabilities.
The department stated that Akintola was taken into custody immediately after her plea and sentencing hearing before Magistrate Judge Kate Vaughan.
The statement noted that at the sentencing hearing, Vaughan condemned the offence, saying she was struck by the fact that Akintola had targeted a vulnerable victim.
It noted that court records showed that Akintola became a social worker for the Snoqualmie Tribe in January 2023 and later applied to become the Social
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