The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Thursday, September 18, charged a Nigerian contractor, Bankole Olaniyi Akinfe with stealing after he was allegedly observed removing at least 10 Random-access memory (RAM) modules from government computers in Maryland.
The 49-year-old Akinfe, of Laurel, Maryland, was charged in a criminal complaint with theft of government property, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Maryland.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Akinfe had worked as a contractor at USCIS headquarters since December 2025 in the agency’s Information Technology Customer Support Centre.
According to the criminal complaint, Akinfe was observed on August 27, removing at least 10 Random-Access Memory (RAM) modules from USCIS laptops without authorisation.
The office said Akinfe allegedly put the RAM modules in his pocket and took them off the premises.
The criminal complaint was announced by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Joseph V. Cuffari, Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stressed that a criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt and that individuals charged through a criminal complaint are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later proceeding.
If convicted, Akinfe faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison because the total value of the allegedly stolen government property exceeds $1,000.
The office, however, noted that actual sentences for federal crimes are typically lower than the maximum penalties.
It added that a federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also said the Department of Justice had created the National Fraud Enforcement Division to investigate and prosecute fraud against Americans.
It said the division’s efforts to combat fraud support president Donald Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a government-wide initiative chaired by vice president J.D. Vance to address fraud, waste and abuse within federal benefit programmes.
Hayes commended the department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General for its work on the case and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle A. Li, who is prosecuting the case.
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