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James G. Miller Jr., 53, of Scranton, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the wire fraud operation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said in a release on Monday, March 3.
Investigators say Miller helped move stolen pandemic aid—including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Lost Wage Assistance Payments (LWAPs), and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) benefits—between February 2020 and January 2022.
Miller worked as a middleman for international fraudsters, using his bank accounts, mailing address, and Bitcoin transactions to launder the illicit funds, authorities said. In return, he pocketed small sums of cash for his role in the scheme.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and multiple Offices of Inspector General, officials said.
The Department of Justice’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force has been cracking down on pandemic-related scams since its formation in May 2021.
Federal authorities urge anyone with information on pandemic fraud to report it by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or filing a complaint at justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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