Ex-USU student sent to prison in fraud case tied to student club

SALT LAKE CITY — A former Utah State University graduate student was sent to prison last week after using the student club he oversaw to steal almost $400,000 in fraudulent loans to use for personal expenses.

Mubarak Sulaiman Ukashat, 38, of Kaysville, was a graduate student at USU and formerly the president of the Student Association Muslim Students Club. In 2023, he was indicted by a federal grand jury and accused of aggravated identity theft, wire fraud and money laundering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ukashat was born in Nigeria and came to America in 2015 to pursue a doctorate in physics and he became a lawful permanent resident, court documents state.

In February, Ukashat pleaded guilty to failing to file currency and other monetary instruments reports, which means he transported currency amounting to more than $10,000 out of the U.S. and to a different location, with the intent to evade federal reporting requirements, his plea statement states. In exchange for pleading guilty to this charge, the wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering charges were dropped.

A judge sentenced Ukashat to two years in federal prison and ordered him to pay $392,827 in restitution, forfeit another $101,000 and serve three years on probation.

Between June and July 2020, Ukashat fraudulently received more than $333,000 in four Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the Small Business Administration, which he then transferred into the club’s account, according to his original indictment.

“He used the names of four people to whom he had no connection and directed the proceeds to be sent to the USUSA Muslim Students Club bank account at America First Credit Union, over which Ukashat had custody and control,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Utah said.

Ukashat then transferred the money into a different bank account, which he co-owned with a relative, and spent the funds on unauthorized personal expenses. The purchases included a $45,900 GMC Yukon, $27,000 in electronics; $21,000 to pay off a car loan; $20,000 in debt payments; $10,000 in earnest money to buy a house and $5,200 for college expenses. He also sent approximately $100,000 to foreign countries, including Nigeria and Dubai, prosecutors said.

Ukashat also obtained almost $60,000 in state unemployment benefits that he did not qualify for, according to court documents.

Read more: Utah State University, two other schools headed for the PAC 12 next year allege Mountain West Conference of fraud in lawsuit