A 48-year-old Nigerian social worker, Akeatha Diane Akintola, has been sentenced to five years in prison in Washington, United States, after pleading guilty to stealing Social Security benefits intended for a disabled minor under the care of the Snoqualmie Tribe.
The sentence was announced by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd in a statement released by the United States Department of Justice.
Akintola pleaded guilty to theft of public funds after admitting to illegally obtaining and spending $17,638 in Social Security benefits meant for a child with intellectual disabilities.
During the sentencing hearing, Magistrate Judge S. Kate Vaughan strongly condemned Akintola's actions, describing the victim as particularly vulnerable and characterizing the offense as "an ethical breach beyond imagining."
According to court documents, Akintola began working as a social worker for the Snoqualmie Tribe in January 2023. In September of the same year, she allegedly applied by telephone to become the Social Security Representative Payee for a minor tribal member whose mother had died, leaving survivor benefits for the child.
The Tribe's policies prohibit social workers from serving as representative payees for children under their care. Despite this restriction, prosecutors said Akintola used the child's Social Security number alongside her own information to secure approval as the child's representative payee.
Once appointed, the Social Security benefits were deposited into a bank account under her control. Investigators found that she used the funds for personal expenses, including purchases at a retailer in North Bend.
The scheme reportedly continued for at least five months before concerns were raised about the missing funds. In July 2024, Akintola accompanied her supervisor to the Social Security Administration to investigate the status of the benefits. When officials revealed that she was listed as the representative payee, she allegedly denied any involvement. She resigned from her position with the Tribe the following day.
A representative of the Snoqualmie Tribe delivered a powerful victim impact statement during the court proceedings, accusing Akintola of abusing her position of trust and exploiting a grieving child for financial gain.
“In our profession, a social worker is meant to be a safekeeper. A protector for children who have been stripped of their safety, family, and stability,” the representative told the court. “She did not just fail in that duty; she weaponized her position of power to systematically steal from a grieving, autistic child.”
Court records further revealed that Akintola failed to appear for a previously scheduled plea and sentencing hearing on May 22, 2026. Prosecutors later discovered that she had left the United States two days earlier and traveled to Togo using a passport issued under a different surname.
She eventually appeared before the court on June 17, 2026, where Judge Vaughan ordered her into immediate custody to begin serving her prison sentence.
In addition to the five-year sentence, Akintola has been ordered to pay $17,638 in restitution to the Social Security Administration. She has also been permanently barred from serving as a Social Security Representative Payee in the future.
The investigation was conducted by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Snoqualmie Tribal Police. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica M. Ly, a Social Security Administration attorney designated to handle federal Social Security fraud cases.
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