- Benedicta Okunlola, 32, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for embezzling $1.4 million.
- She issued over 2,300 gift cards to herself and family, successfully avoiding detection for four years.
- Okunlola must pay $1,398,014 restitution and serve three years probation post-prison.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake woman was sentenced to 15 months in prison for embezzling almost $1.4 million by issuing gift cards to herself through her employer's finances.
Benedicta Okunlola, 32, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in November just two weeks after being federally indicted in a wire fraud scheme where she was accused of defrauding her employer. She will serve three years on probation after her imprisonment is completed, and she was ordered to pay $1,398,014 in restitution.
From 2020 to 2025, Okunlola worked as a merchant growth specialist for Snap Finance and had authorization to use the company credit card to buy low-dollar Visa and Mastercard gift cards from the California-based financial tech company Blackhawk for marketing purposes, her federal indictment states. During her time at the company, she secretly issued more than 2,300 gift cards to herself, her online art business and to family members.
"The gift cards Okunlola fraudulently purchased for herself and others were kept below the company's secondary approval thresholds to avoid detection. She spent the gift cards on rent, online shopping, groceries, ride-shares, dining out and trips to South Korea, Japan, South Africa and Portugal," a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah said.
In January 2025, Snap Finance audited its gift card purchases and discovered the excessive number of cards ordered from Blackhawk, the indictment states. In total, Okunlola stole $1,398,014 from her employer, according to prosecutors.
"None of these cards were authorized by Snap Finance. I knew it was fraud to order these customer incentive gift cards from Blackhawk for myself, and I did so to obtain money from Snap Finance," Okunlola said in her plea statement.
Special agent in charge Robert Bohls, of the Salt Lake City FBI, said Okunlola's actions violated a position of trust and caused financial harm to her employer.
"Benedicta Okunlola's actions were not a mistake or a lapse in judgement. It was a deliberate scheme driven by greed," Bohls said.
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Cassidy Wixom
