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Nelson Fornah, 35, of Darby, was charged with identity theft, access device fraud, tampering with public records, and other offenses, according to Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
“As a caregiver, this defendant was responsible for supporting adult individuals with disabilities in order to help them build trust and communicate with others. Instead, he used his position of trust to take advantage of his victims and steal their personal information for his own gain” AG Shapiro said.
“We are working nonstop to track down people who undermine the public by breaking the law and committing fraud.”
Fornah, a caregiver for intellectually disabled adults across Delaware and Montgomery counties, stole identifying information from seven clients, ranging in age from 41 to 61 years old, according to a criminal complaint.
He received a total of $89,418 in PUA benefits, the complaint reads.
This started in July 2020, when he created phony email addresses for the victims while using his own phone numbers on each application, authorities said.
In December 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry began requesting additional verification for the PUA accounts he had opened, the AG's office said.
Investigators learned that applicants are often asked to verify their identities through ID.me, a third-party vendor utilized to reduce fraud. ID.me allows users to verify their identity during video calls where the applicants speak with the vendor directly, according to authorities.
While reviewing the recorded ID.me sessions, investigators claim that someone was off-camera speaking for the "applicants."
They also say the victims appeared to be "incoherent" and "unaware of their surroundings", and in some cases, "distressed" and "confused" at what was occurring, according to the AG's office.
Fornah is also accused of applying for PUA benefits using his own information even though he was fully employed prior to and through the pandemic, authorities said.
Following his rejection, he lied about his employment status to apply for the standard PA unemployment compensation benefits and received more than $14,000 as a result, the AG's office said.
In addition, Fornah attempted to use his clients’ stolen personal information to apply for unemployment benefits in New Jersey, authorities said.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Megan Madaffari.
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