Reports

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this inspection report to determine whether data sharing between the Employment and Training Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) could mitigate the risk of fraudulent unemployment insurance benefit payments and SBA disaster program disbursements. In 2020, soon after Congress expanded the Unemployment Insurance and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Programs in response to the adverse economic effects caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor OIG and SBA OIG respectively began reporting...

U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang today sentenced Jerry Phillips, a/k/a “Tian Juzo,” age 25, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a wire fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, and illegal possession of a machine gun, related to a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in COVID-19 CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program loan applications (“PPP”), Economic Injury Disaster loan applications (“EIDL”), and unemployment insurance claims. Judge Chuang also ordered Phillips to pay restitution of $1,235...

A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging Jerry Phillips, age 24, of Temple Hills, Maryland, for the federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft; and Jaleel Phillips, age 24, of Temple Hills, Maryland, for wire fraud, in relation to an alleged scheme to unlawfully obtain COVID-19 relief loans and unemployment benefits.

Jaleel Phillips, age 25, of Capital Heights, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a federal wire fraud conspiracy, in relation to a scheme to unlawfully obtain COVID-19 relief loans and unemployment benefits.

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and representatives from their partner law enforcement agencies announced today an update on their criminal enforcement efforts in South Florida to combat fraud under the CARES Act, the relief legislation that Congress passed one year ago to help individuals and businesses financially survive the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the enforcement efforts announced today include prosecutions against defendants accused of trying to...