Reports

ABINGDON, Va. – The final defendant charged in a 17-member conspiracy that defrauded the United States, committed program fraud and mail fraud in connection with a scheme involving the filing of fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment benefits pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Abingdon.

Deshawn Oshaea Campbell, 36, of Citrus Heights, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm and mail fraud

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.

Rochelle Pasley, 34, of Citrus Heights, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Tabitha Leigh Markle, 53, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in a scheme to defraud the unemployment insurance benefit program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A former employee of the California Employment Development Department, which administers the state’s unemployment insurance program, pleaded guilty this afternoon to fraudulently obtaining more than $750,000 in COVID jobless relief.

A South Bay man who provided lifestyle and personal development coaching to students in public schools through a non-profit he founded pleaded guilty today to fraudulently applying for millions of dollars in COVID-19 jobless benefits, including by using stolen identities.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A jury found a Columbus man guilty on all counts for leading drug, sex trafficking and financial fraud conspiracies and then attempting to obstruct justice and tamper with witnesses.

Two San Bernardino County residents were arrested today on a nine-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $2.1 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds by submitting more than 120 fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits using stolen identities, including those of California state prisoners.

A Portland man was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for stealing more than $147,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits from the Oregon Employment Department (OED).

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that REHA JANEE ARVIE, (“ARVIE”), age 33, of Westwego, LA, was indicted on September 6, 2024 for Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud (Count1), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349; Mail Fraud (Counts 2 and 3), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341; and, Making False Statements (Count 4), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2).

SAN JUAN, P.R. – On August 22, 2024, a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned 32 separate indictments charging 32 individuals with engaging in fraud to obtain Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits totaling $981,071, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG) are in charge of the investigations with the assistance of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Puerto Rico Department of...

BOSTON – Jose Then, originally charged under the pseudonym “John Doe,” was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for mail fraud, false statement in an application for a passport, misuse of a social security number and aggravated identity theft.

A Hampton woman was sentenced today to five years in prison for identity theft and leading a conspiracy to defraud the government and financial institutions for pandemic-related loans and other benefits.

A South Bay man who provided lifestyle and personal development coaching to students in public schools through a non-profit he founded was arrested today on an indictment alleging he and his accomplices fraudulently applied for millions of dollars in COVID-19 jobless benefits, including by using stolen identities.

A former college football player and Orange County man pleaded guilty today to orchestrating a scheme that fraudulently sought more than $1 million and obtained more than $280,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits.

BOSTON – A Haverhill man was arrested and charged today in connection with a Massachusetts Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claim he filed in 2020 for a man who was living in Brazil and who has since been charged with migrant smuggling, among other offenses.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – An indictment was unsealed after a California man was arrested and is scheduled to appear in a Salt Lake City federal courthouse. The eight count indictment charges the defendant for unlawfully collecting unemployment insurance during COVID-19 from California while living and working in Utah. He also allegedly assisted others in committing the same acts for a cut of their unemployment insurance funds administered under the CARES Act.

Terence Aubrey Larker, 37, of Las Vegas, previously of Sacramento, was sentenced Tuesday to four years and 10 months in prison for mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in a scheme to defraud the Unemployment Insurance benefit program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Riverside County man was sentenced today to 68 months in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme to obtain more than $2.1 million in pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by filing fraudulent applications claiming, among other things, that the claimants were salon and barbershop workers rendered jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ROBERT CARTER engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1 million in unemployment insurance funds during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Concord, California, woman was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for her leading role in a conspiracy to defraud at least five states of more than $3.5 million in pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Todd Ward a/k/a “Fats,” age 44, of Troy, New York; Christopher Ward a/k/a “Reek,” age 45, of Troy; Rocco Resciniti a/k/a “Rock,” age 49

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Taquan Parker, age 26, of Rensselaer, New York, was sentenced today to 13 months in prison for engaging in a fraudulent scheme to obtain

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico returned a superseding indictment charging four men with one count of conspiracy to launder funds from wire, mail, and access device fraud schemes. One defendant, Oluwasegun Baiyewu, was previously charged on Oct. 21, 2021.

A San Bernardino County woman was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $500,000 in pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits by using the names of inmates locked up the California state prison system.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A West Warwick man who admitted to a federal judge that he participated in a conspiracy to use the stolen identities of others to gain COVID related unemployment insurance benefits was sentenced today to three years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Medard Ulysse, age 38, most recently of Miami, Florida, today to nine years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud in relation to multiple fraud schemes, including an elder fraud “grandparent” scam and a COVID-19 CARES Act fraud related to unemployment benefits. Judge Bennett also ordered Ulysse to pay restitution totaling $2,485,512. Of that amount $1,866,745 is for the elder fraud scam and $618,767 is for the unemployment benefits scheme.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results achieved by the Middle District of Florida’s efforts to combat fraud related to COVID-19. Those efforts have included complementary actions by the Criminal, Asset Recovery, and Civil Divisions, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Christopher A. Parris, 42, formerly of Rochester, New York, and currently of Lawrenceville, Georgia, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud related to a Ponzi scheme, as well as to wire fraud involving the fraudulent sale of purported N95 masks during the pandemic, was sentenced to serve 244 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr.

A former United States Postal Service mail carrier was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison 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.

A former Amtrak employee pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for conspiring with her husband to steal nearly $1 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and for fraudulently obtaining more than $63,000 in sickness benefits while she worked at Amtrak.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results achieved by the Middle District of Florida’s efforts to combat fraud related to COVID-19 during fiscal year 2022, ending September 30, 2022. Those efforts have included complementary actions by the Criminal, Asset Recovery, and Civil Divisions, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Medard Ulysse, age 38, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud in relation to multiple fraud schemes, including an elder “grandparent” scheme and a COVID-19 CARES Act Fraud scheme.

A San Bernardino County woman was arrested today on a seven-count federal grand jury indictment alleging she fraudulently obtained more than $500,000 in pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by using the names of inmates locked up the California state prison system.

United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today the indictment of SHARNAE EVERY (“EVERY”), age 27, of Houston, Texas, who was charged with one (1) count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and two (2) counts of Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341. The case against EVERY began as a result of a referral from the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (“PRAC”) regarding possible fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans (“PPP”). Investigators determined there were at least 110 PPP...

BOSTON – A Hyde Park man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with his alleged use of a stolen identity to fraudulently obtain pandemic relief funds and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, previously known as Food Stamps.

U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Oluwaseyi Akinyemi, a/k/a “Paddy Linkin”, a/k/a “Joseph Kadin”, age 35, of Hyattsville, Maryland, yesterday to eight years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for two counts of mail fraud relating to a social media advanced fee fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims. Judge Chuang also ordered Akinyemi to pay $486,119.07 in restitution to his victims.

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.

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.

Federal authorities this morning arrested a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier and a Santa Clarita Valley man for allegedly scheming to steal approximately $800,000 in unemployment insurance (UI) funds by using false claims of COVID-related job losses and stealing UI debit cards from the U.S. mail.

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas woman was sentenced today to 45 months in prison for using at least 40 stolen identities to fraudulently collect approximately $175,622 in unemployment insurance benefits from the California Employment Development Department (EDD).

A federal grand jury in Maryland has indicted Ron Elfenbein, M.D., age 47, of Arnold, Maryland, for three counts of healthcare fraud for submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and other insurers for patients who received COVID-19 tests at sites operated by the defendant. The indictment was returned yesterday.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A West Warwick man was arraigned on Monday in U.S. District Court on charges contained in a federal indictment alleging that he participated in a conspiracy to use the stolen identities of others to gain COVID related unemployment insurance benefits, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.