Reports

A federal jury in Albany, Georgia, convicted a Georgia man today for his participation in a scheme to defraud the Georgia Department of Labor (GaDOL) out of millions of dollars in benefits meant to assist unemployed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of September 2022, the OIG reported $45.6 billion in unemployment fraud, including $139.5 million from claims using deceased individuals' Social Security numbers. DOL OIG found that fraudulent unemployment insurance claims were filed using deceased individuals' Social Security Numbers by 10 State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) failed to effectively monitor or report on these claims, which hindered efforts to identify high-risk fraud areas. DOL OIG found $586,782 in benefits paid, with $302,686 confirmed as fraudulent. Although no new...

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Niall Alli was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 48 months in prison, in connection with a $1.7 million disaster relief fraud and wire fraud perpetrated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the sentence, Alli was also ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution to the Small Business Administration and approximately $135,000 in forfeiture consisting of assets seized from corporate bank accounts and Ethereum from a corporate Coinbase wallet.

Rena Barrett, a former Small Business Administration (“SBA”) loan officer, pled guilty on August 11, 2025 to making false statements to the SBA in connection with applications for more than $550,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 pandemic loans.