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Worcester County resident Destinee Snay, age 20, of Leicester, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for securing cash earmarked for those in need with co-conspirator William Cordor.
At the time of the scheme, Snay was 19 years old.
Prosecutors said that between June 2020 and October 2020, Snay and Cordor schemed to file false and fraudulent claims for unemployment assistance in multiple states using stolen identities obtained from a variety of places including Facebook and from former fellow inmates at Worcester County House of Correction.
To facilitate the conspiracy, Snay admitted to creating phony email accounts on Gmail, AOL, and Yahoo which she used to file the fraudulent claims.
In total, prosecutors said that Snay personally filed approximately 20 false and fraudulent unemployment claims for Massachusetts and other states.
Cordor and Snay then transferred the funds into prepaid debit card accounts they obtained and used the proceeds to pay for hotels, rental cars, a trip to Miami, and a shopping spree at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Snay is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, Oct. 12, when she will face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Cordor previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and four counts of aggravated identity theft. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
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