Tag:

Unemployment Fraud

George Santos Won't Run For Re-Election: 'Substantial Evidence' Of Lawbreaking, Committee Says George Santos Won't Run For Re-Election: 'Substantial Evidence' Of Lawbreaking, Committee Says
George Santos Won't Run For Re-Election: 'Substantial Evidence' Of Lawbreaking, Committee Says Beleaguered New York Rep. George Santos says he won’t run for office in 2024 after an investigation by the House Ethics Committee found he likely committed federal crimes that have yet to be charged. In a damning report released Thursday, Nov. 16, the committee - made up of five Republicans and five Democrats - said it had unanimously concluded there was “substantial evidence” of lawbreaking and was referring its findings to the Department of Justice. Specifically, the investigation found that Santos, a Long Island Republican whose 3rd District includes parts of Nassau County and Queens: …
VA Man Who Made Siblings Ringleaders In $1.7M Pandemic Scheme Gets Time In Fed Pen VA Man Who Made Siblings Ringleaders In $1.7M Pandemic Scheme Gets Time In Fed Pen
VA Man Who Made Siblings Ringleaders In $1.7M Pandemic Scheme Gets Time In Fed Pen A northern Virginia man will be spending time in federal prison for instructing his siblings how to file bogus pandemic unemployment claims that netted nearly $1.7 million. Eric Wilhoit, II, 29, of Fredericksburg, conspired with Odyssey Wilhoit, 23, Jeremiah Wilhoit, 26, Dejhaun Wilhoit, 26, from May 2020 through in or about January 2022, Virginia's US Attorney General Jessica D. Aber said. Eric, Odyssey, and Dejhaun are siblings. It was unclear how Jeremiah was related. Eric Wilhoit admitted that he instructed his co-conspirators on how to make the claims. The group then used VPN…
Atlantic City Councilman In Bigger Trouble Now, Charged By Feds With Voter, Unemployment Fraud Atlantic City Councilman In Bigger Trouble Now, Charged By Feds With Voter, Unemployment Fraud
Atlantic City Councilman In Bigger Trouble Now, Charged By Feds With Voter, Unemployment Fraud An Atlantic City councilman who was accused last year of assaulting his wife and endangering his daughter was busted by federal authorities for voter and unemployment fraud. MD Hossain Morshed, 49, a Democrat who represents the city’s Fourth Ward, was charged in a complaint unsealed Friday, March 17, in U.S. District Court in Camden. Morshed falsified voter registrations, lied to the FBI and filed bogus unemployment benefit claims with the state, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. According to Sellinger, Morshed gave a prospective voter in the June 2019 primary a pre-filled voter regi…
Four Face Federal Indictment In Maryland For $3M COVID-19 Fraud Scheme Four Face Federal Indictment In Maryland For $3M COVID-19 Fraud Scheme
Four Face Federal Indictment In Maryland For $3M Covid-19 Fraud Scheme Four Maryland residents are facing federal indictment for a CARES Act COVID-19 unemployment fraud scheme that saw over $3 million in losses, officials say. Three of the suspects had an initial court appearance in Baltimore on Thursday, July 21, while the fourth was scheduled to appear on Friday, July 22 in Florida. Those facing charges:  Tyshawna Davis, 38, of Gwynn Oak; Donna Jones, 55, of Cockeysville; Devante Smith, 27, of Hanover; Tila Woods, 44, of Baltimore. From June 2020 through May 2021, the four used the identification information of their victims to fraudulently obtain une…
Nigerian National Living In Maryland Sentenced After Running Elderly Fraud Scheme Nigerian National Living In Maryland Sentenced After Running Elderly Fraud Scheme
Nigerian National Living In Maryland Sentenced After Running Elderly Fraud Scheme A Nigerian national living in Maryland was sentenced to eight years in federal prison after running a fraud scheme that targeted the elderly, authorities say. Oluwaseyi Akinyemi, also known as “Paddy Linkin” and “Joseph Kadin,” 35, ran the social media scheme from July 2018 to April 2019, offering victims non-existent financial rewards if they sent cash, money orders, or gift cards to cover fraudulent "taxes and fees", according to the Department of Justice. Akinyemi and at least one other co-conspirator posed as real and fake government agencies and impersonated social media accounts of th…
COVID-19: New England Woman Admits To Role In Pandemic Fraud Scheme COVID-19: New England Woman Admits To Role In Pandemic Fraud Scheme
Covid-19: New England Woman Admits To Role In Pandemic Fraud Scheme A Massachusetts woman admitted to stealing unemployment funds while she was a teenager during the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.  Earlier story - COVID-19: Massachusetts Woman, Man Charged For Pandemic Scheme Prosecutors said that between June 2020 and October 2020, Snay and Cordor schemed to file false and fraudulent claims for unemploym…
Union County Woman Admits Destroying Evidence In $400,000 COVID Unemployment Scam Union County Woman Admits Destroying Evidence In $400,000 COVID Unemployment Scam
Union County Woman Admits Destroying Evidence In $400,000 COVID Unemployment Scam A Union County woman admitted in federal court that she was shredding bogus credit and debit cards -- obtained by a man who fraudulently collected $400,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits from the state of New York -- when investigators came busting in. Detectives armed with a search warrant found Latoyia McCollum, 46, of Hillside in the kitchen of an undisclosed location "placing what appeared to be a credit/debit card into the shredder" while face-timing on a cellphone in October 2020, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. McCollum told them she was on the phone with Maurice Mills…
Son Of Infamous Bergen County Burglar Charged With ID Theft, Unemployment Fraud Son Of Infamous Bergen County Burglar Charged With ID Theft, Unemployment Fraud
Son Of Infamous Bergen County Burglar Charged With ID Theft, Unemployment Fraud The son of an infamous Bergen County burglar was charged with unemployment fraud after a shoplifting bust in Virginia, authorities said. A judge ordered Daniel Gatson Jr., 24, of Ridgefield released this week after he was booked into the Bergen County Jail hours earlier, records show. Gatson assumed another identity to open bank accounts, then applied for and received unemployment benefits from the state of New Jersey, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said, without specifying the amount. Detectives in Fairfax County, VA discovered this while investigating a shoplifting, the prose…
Facebook, Instagram Unemployment Benefits Fraudsters Arrested In Dauphin County, PA AG Says Facebook, Instagram Unemployment Benefits Fraudsters Arrested In Dauphin County, PA AG Says
Facebook, Instagram Unemployment Benefits Fraudsters Arrested In Dauphin County, PA AG Says Three people have been arrested for unemployment fraud in Dauphin County according to Pennsylvania's Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Tyreese Lewis, 20, Kymaury Goldsby, 21, and Dorien Ervin, 21, used stolen and solicited information to apply for benefits-- receiving more than $140,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funding. The men also applied using their own names, despite the fact that they were not out of work due to the pandemic. "These defendants took advantage of a program meant to help Pennsylvania families put food on the table. We're committed to shutting down scammers and pr…
COVID-19: Massachusetts Woman, Man Charged For Pandemic Scheme COVID-19: Massachusetts Woman, Man Charged For Pandemic Scheme
Covid-19: Massachusetts Woman, Man Charged For Pandemic Scheme A 26-year-old man and teenage woman in Massachusetts are facing charges for their alleged roles in a scheme to secure unemployment funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities announced. The Department of Justice is charging Leicester resident Destinee Snay, 19, with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, after co-conspirator William Cordor was charged with four counts of wire fraud, and four counts of aggravated identity theft in April for alleged fraud during the pandemic. It is alleged that between June and October last year, Cordor and Snay conspired with others to file f…
Trouble Collecting Unemployment? Working NJ Man Pocketed $96,437 Before COVID, Authorities Say Trouble Collecting Unemployment? Working NJ Man Pocketed $96,437 Before COVID, Authorities Say
Trouble Collecting Unemployment? Working NJ Man Pocketed $96,437 Before COVID, Authorities Say Before the coronavirus pandemic drove claims to unprecedented heights, a South Jersey man collected $96,437 in unemployment benefits from the state while holding down a job, said authorities who charged him with theft. Brian Peyton, 50, of Vineland had worked for a major food packaging company in Cumberland County for 27 years, in fact, records show. A state grand jury in Trenton indicted Peyton late last week after prosecutors said he had the benefits directly deposited from July 2010 through January 2017 while remaining employed the entire time, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal sai…
PA Inmates, Girlfriend Accomplice Charged As Ringleaders In $226K Unemployment Fraud Scheme PA Inmates, Girlfriend Accomplice Charged As Ringleaders In $226K Unemployment Fraud Scheme
PA Inmates, Girlfriend Accomplice Charged As Ringleaders In $226K Unemployment Fraud Scheme Two Pennsylvania inmates and their outside accomplice were charged for their roles in a fraud scheme in which they gave false information on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) applications, to disperse $226,000 in funds, authorities announced. John Jones, an inmate at SCI Rockview in Centre County, and Robert Palmer, an inmate at SCI Huntingdon in Huntingdon County, were charged with illegally applying for PUA benefits for themselves and on behalf of inmates from across the state, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. Jones submitted PUA applications for 10 inmates including seven from SC…
Feds: ID Thief From NJ Filed $1M In Unemployment Claims In NY Feds: ID Thief From NJ Filed $1M In Unemployment Claims In NY
Feds: ID Thief From NJ Filed $1M In Unemployment Claims In NY A North Jersey ID thief used personal information stolen from 20 people to file $1 million worth of unemployment claims to New York State, federal authorities said. Federal agents tracked all of the claims for benefits to a single IP address and telephone number belonging to Maurice Mills, 28, of Union Township, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Surveillance cameras also caught Mills using an unemployment insurance benefits debit card to make an ATM withdrawal, he said. “Many of these claims were in the names of individuals located in Texas and directed the benefits to be sent to locatio…