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New Haven County resident Olajuwon Harrington of Waterbury, also known as “OJ Harrington,” was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday, Jan. 10 for stealing pandemic unemployment benefits, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced.
According to federal officials, Harrington used the identifying information of real victims without their knowledge to fraudulently apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which was offered by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020 to provide benefits for people not eligible for other unemployment insurance.
In addition to this program, the CARES Act also created the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program to provide additional weekly benefits to those eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or regular unemployment insurance. These benefits were administered by the Connecticut Department of Labor.
After receiving the fraudulent applications for unemployment assistance, the Department of Labor would award assistance in the form of debit cards in the name of around 43 victims. These debit cards would then be mailed to addresses given in the fake applications.
Over 20 months, Harrington obtained these debit cards and unlawfully used them for his benefit, officials said.
Harrington was eventually arrested on a criminal complaint on Nov. 30, 2022. He pleaded guilty to access device fraud on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
In addition to his sentence, Harrington was also ordered to pay restitution of $793,254, and he will also have to serve two years of supervised release once his prison term is complete.
Anyone with more information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-572.
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