Reports

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Robert Hopkins IV, age 37, of Baltimore, Maryland to 51 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges relating to multiple identity theft and fraud schemes, including the submission of fraudulent CARES Act loan applications. Judge Chasanow also ordered Hopkins to pay $456,784.54 in restitution.

Tacoma – A former employee of Washington State’s Employment Security Department (ESD) was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to five years in prison for three federal felonies for his scheme to exploit his employment for personal enrichment and to fraudulently distribute at least $360,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown

Recognized as a leader in pandemic relief fraud prosecutions, the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office has been selected to head one of three COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams nationally.

BOSTON – A former Everett man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to identity theft and fraud charges in connection with multiple schemes to fraudulently obtain an apartment as well as pandemic-related relief funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson said, “This prosecution shows that my Office will aggressively prosecute persons who, by means of fraud, obtain federal funds that Congress appropriated to assist unemployed persons through the economic hardship created by the COVID pandemic. Such theft of federal funds tears the safety net that Congress implemented for American workers and their families.”

A federal jury convicted the president of a Silicon Valley-based medical technology company today of participating in a scheme to mislead investors, commit health care fraud, and pay illegal kickbacks in connection with the submission of over $77 million in false and fraudulent claims for COVID-19 and allergy testing.