Reports

A Columbia, Mo., man who ran a scheme to defraud insurance companies through staged accidents and who fraudulently applied for COVID-19 relief funds was sentenced in federal court today for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Chief U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III, sentenced Ryan E. Dales, 36, of Baltimore, to 26 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Dales, a previously convicted felon, was charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm as a felon, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Greenbelt , Maryland – U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby sentenced Michael Cooley, Jr., aka “Micheal Cooley Jr.,” “5Micmusik,” and “Michael White,” age 26, of Prince George’s County, Maryland, to 87 months in federal prison. In January 2025, Cooley pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with a conspiracy and scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) and California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD).

Baltimore , Maryland – David Godin, 34, aka “James St Patrick,” aka “David Wetty,” aka “Vic Pro,” of Miami, Florida, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with a scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) and California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD). Godin attempted to defraud MD-DOL and CA-EDD of more than $2.3 million in unemployment insurance (UI) benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PROVIDENCE – Four Florida residents convicted in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island for executing one of the largest schemes in the country to defraud Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act programs, including in Rhode Island, have been sentenced to federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Tacoma – The second of two Nigerian men residing in Canada who defrauded pandemic aid programs of millions was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 54 months in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.