Reports

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).

VICTORIA KATES, 34, of New Britain, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to offenses related to her fraudulent receipt of COVID-19 relief funds.

Baltimore, Maryland – Mervyn Fombe Abiko, 35, of Prince George’s County, Maryland, pled guilty to federal charges in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in unemployment benefits.

BOSTON – The owner of Stash’s Pizza was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for submitting false information to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain a loan on behalf of a business he no longer owned.

SAN DIEGO – Regina Brice, a former employee of the California Employment Development Department, was sentenced in federal court today to 66 months in prison for using her position to file $858,339 in fraudulent unemployment claims, effectively stealing money that was intended to give economic relief to people impacted by the pandemic.

A federal district judge in South Florida has sentenced an Orlando man to almost six years in prison for leading a scheme that defrauded California’s Employment Development Department of over $4 million in state and federal unemployment insurance benefit money.

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.

Baltimore, Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced Devante Smith, 30, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, in connection with his role in an unemployment insurance fraud scheme. Through the conspiracy, victims lost at least $298,685.