SALT LAKE CITY — A former Utah State University club president has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing nearly $400,000 in federal and state funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mubarak Sulaiman Ukashat, 38, of Kaysville, was the president of the USU Muslim Student Club when he engaged in the fraud scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He pleaded guilty to failure to file currency reports on Feb. 6.
Ukashat fraudulently obtained approximately $333,900 in federal disaster loans and nearly $59,000 in state unemployment benefits. Authorities said he used the names of four people “to whom he had no connection” on the loan applications.
He used the funds for unauthorized personal expenses, including a GMC Yukon, electronics, and debt payments. In addition to his prison sentence, Ukashat was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay back the full amount of $392,827.