A woman from Salt Lake City has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after admitting to embezzling nearly $1.4 million from her employer, a Utah-based lending services business. Benedicta Okunlola, 32, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in November 2025 and was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby to pay restitution equal to the amount stolen. She must pay $5,000 at or before sentencing and will serve three years of supervised release following her imprisonment.
Court records show that between 2020 and 2025, Okunlola worked as a Merchant Growth Specialist and used her position to issue more than two thousand prepaid gift cards for personal use, family members, and her online art business. She had exclusive access within the company to purchase gift cards for marketing promotions and incentives, allowing her to bypass internal controls by keeping transactions below secondary approval thresholds.
The investigation found that Okunlola spent the stolen funds on rent, shopping online, groceries, rideshare services, dining out, and international travel to countries including South Korea, Japan, South Africa, and Portugal.
“Okunlola stole from her employer to fund her jet-setting lifestyle,” said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. “It is our hope that her sentence will serve as deterrent from others thinking about engaging in fraud. By teaming up with our law enforcement partners we will continue to investigate and prosecute these cases.”
“Benedicta Okunlola’s actions were not a mistake or a lapse in judgement. It was a deliberate scheme driven by greed,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake City FBI. “The defendant violated a position of trust and caused real financial harm to her employer. This FBI remains committed to investigating complex financial crimes and holding offenders accountable.”
The case was investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Luisa Gough.
