Reports

SAN DIEGO – David Constantin, mastermind of a scheme to steal more than $5 million in California unemployment benefits intended to help workers affected by the pandemic, was sentenced in federal court today to five years in prison and was ordered to pay $ $5,178,276 in restitution to the state.

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest of Lisa Yvette Starkes (52, Ocala) on an indictment charging her with two counts of wire fraud. If convicted, Starkes faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count and a forfeiture order for $41,452—an amount representing the unlawful proceeds of the offense. The indictment was returned on August 6, 2024.

Today, U.S. Senior District Judge sentenced Alexandra Acosta, a Broward deputy sheriff and SWAT team member, to 4 months’ imprisonment after a jury convicted her of one count of conspiracy to defraud the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), two counts of false statements to the SBA, and one count of wire fraud, all in relation to her COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.

An Orange County man was sentenced today to 87 months in federal prison for defrauding companies who in mid-2020 paid more than $3 million for COVID-related medical protective equipment that was never delivered.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was indicted on charges that he fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars of Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds.

A Carrollton man has been charged with federal violations related to a COVID-19 fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.

TRENTON N.J. – A New Jersey couple admitted fraudulently obtaining approximately $790,000 in federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) payments.

BOSTON – A Nigerian man was arrested on Aug. 13, 2024 upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on charges that he, and others, conspired to fraudulently obtain at least $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits.