Reports

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging David Godin, a/k/a “James St Patrick,” a/k/a “David Wetty,” a/k/a “Vic Pro” for 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”) of unemployment insurance (“UI”) benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An indictment accuses Preston Randall of fraudulently obtaining $620,000 in pandemic loans and $17,906 in disability payments.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Mehdi Tazi (29, Tampa) to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and a substantive count of aggravated identity theft. Tazi entered a guilty plea on February 2, 2024. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered Tazi to pay $1,070,647 in restitution, jointly with his co-conspirators who were previously sentenced for the below listed offenses.

PROVIDENCE, RI – Four Florida residents have been convicted in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, for their individual roles in a wide-ranging conspiracy to use stolen personal identifying information (PII) of unsuspecting individuals to fraudulently obtain more than $4.8 million by defrauding banks and fraudulently obtaining benefits and payments from federal and state agencies in multiple jurisdictions, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

A Deepwater, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for fraudulently obtaining more than $500,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man who estimated he filed more than 3,000 fraudulent COVID-relief applications was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 72 months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Njuh Valentine Fombe, a/k/a “Valentine”, age 37, a Cameroonian citizen, formerly residing in Beltsville, Maryland, today to 12 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracies to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and for aggravated identity theft, in connection with a business email compromise fraud scheme with intended losses of more than $2 million. Based on court documents and evidence presented during Fombe’s sentencing, the Court also found that Fombe engaged in a pandemic-related unemployment...