Reports

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging nine defendants in relation to a Maryland and California CARES Act COVID-19 unemployment insurance scheme. The indictment charges the defendants with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and theft of United States Postal Office arrow keys. The indictment was returned on June 21, 2022, and unsealed upon the defendants’ self-surrenders and arrests.

A former United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for scheming to steal more than $250,000 in unemployment insurance (UI) funds by making false claims of COVID-related job losses and for stealing UI debit cards intended for other people on his mail route.

Law enforcement today arrested six defendants charged in a federal grand jury indictment alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $2 million in COVID-19-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by submitting fraudulent applications in the names of others that falsely asserted, among other things, that the claimants were salon and barbershop workers rendered jobless because of the pandemic.

A rapper who boasted in a YouTube music video about getting rich by committing pandemic-related unemployment benefits fraud has agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud and firearms charges, the Justice Department announced today.

Tacoma – A former employee of Washington State’s Employment Security Department pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to three federal felonies for his scheme to exploit his employment for personal enrichment and to fraudulently distribute at least $360,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.

BOSTON – A Leicester man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Worcester for his involvement in fraud schemes affecting the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) Loan and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Programs in Massachusetts and Nevada.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher sentenced Christopher Guy, age 30, of Tampa, Florida to 65 months in federal prison, followed by a three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Judge Gallagher also ordered Guy to pay $176,970 in restitution.