U.S. Authorities Auction Seized Luxury Items From Jailed Nigerian Official

Authorities in the United States have auctioned a luxury wristwatch and necklace seized from Abidemi Rufai, a former Nigerian official who was jailed for wire fraud and identity theft.

Rufai, a former official from Ogun State, was sentenced to prison by the U.S. District Court for Western Tacoma in Washington on September 26, 2022. He had pleaded guilty to attempting to steal nearly million from the U.S. government using stolen identities, including defrauding the government of approximately in pandemic-related unemployment benefits.

According to court documents, Rufai successfully defrauded 12 U.S. agencies of , which was paid into bank accounts under his control. As part of his plea agreement, Rufai was ordered to pay full restitution of to the defrauded agencies.

Two items, a Cartier wristwatch and a gold chain necklace, were recovered during Rufai’s arrest and sold by the U.S. government.

Nicholas Brown, a U.S. Attorney, detailed the sale in a court filing, stating: “The Judgment entered in this case directed the United States to sell in a commercially reasonable manner a Cartier watch and a gold chain necklace that it seized from Defendant Abidemi Rufai during his arrest and apply the net proceeds to Defendant’s judgment debt.”

The auction, conducted by Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers, saw the wristwatch sold for and the necklace for . After deducting shipping costs and a sales commission, the total net proceeds amounted to .

These funds were directed to cover part of Rufai’s restitution balance, with applied to his debt, leaving him still owing the U.S. government .

Rufai was released from prison in mid-November 2024, but his current whereabouts remain unknown.