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A Portage County man who orchestrated a financial conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has been sentenced to prison.

A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment today against Anthony Mark Silva, 40, of Manchester, New Hampshire, charging him with nine counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man made his initial appearance in court yesterday for allegedly defrauding the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR) and the California Employment Development Department (EDD) in a scheme to steal $500,830 in benefits meant to assist unemployed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Nigerian man living in the San Gabriel Valley was sentenced today to 135 months in federal prison for defrauding California and Nevada out of $1.3 million in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment and disability insurance benefits by submitting more than 100 fraudulent applications using stolen identities and using the money to build a nightclub and mall in Nigeria.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced Victor Ojo, 30, of Belcamp, Maryland, to 72 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Victor Ojo received the sentence for aggravated identity theft and his role in an attempted bank-fraud scheme that had an intended loss amount of $1.5 million.

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.

Darmani Hawkins, 21, of Aurora, was sentenced to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud; conspiracy to commit bank fraud; and mail theft as part of schemes to fraudulently obtain COVID-era state unemployment benefits and, separately, to steal checks from the mail, alter them, and deposit them.

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.

On Nov. 15, Conrad Brandon Bernard, 24, pled guilty in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to committing bank fraud and identity theft during a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $1 million in Covid-19 relief loans and unemployment compensation payments.

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).