Nigerian Rapper, Sauce Kid Sent To Prison For Fraud

Babalola Falemi, known in music circles as Sauce Kid and Sinzu, was sentenced this week to two years in federal prison after stealing $15,388 during a visit last summer to the Treasure Valley.

Falemi obtained stolen bank card numbers and identifying information for their owners. He then encoded the account numbers onto blank plastic cards. After using an automated system to change account PINs, he was able to withdraw cash from bank ATMS and buy merchandise from stores between July 23 and 26.

All of the losses took place at Boise ATMs owned by Idaho Central Credit Union and at Albertsons stores in Meridian, court documents alleged.

Police arrested Falemi at the Boise Airport as he was about to board a flight. He was caught with a card encoding device and most than $6,000 in cash.


Falemi was initially charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, eight counts each of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, and possession of 15 or more fraudulent bank cards.

He pleaded guilty to one of the counts of aggravated identity theft. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed the other counts. Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also placed him on one year of supervised release after his prison term.