Five Virginians plead guilty in pandemic unemployment fraud conspiracy
(The Center Square) – Five more Virginians pleaded guilty to charges they conspired with others to defraud nearly a half of a million dollars from the U.S. government through pandemic unemployment benefits.
The five residents, who all live in the southwest part of the commonwealth, admitted to working with more than 30 people to make fraudulent claims for more than $499,000. Another eight residents have entered into plea agreements with the United States. About 37 people are suspected of being involved in the conspiracy.
At this time, 19 of the coconspirators pleaded guilty to their role in the scheme.
“These five individuals used a carefully orchestrated series of lies to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars intended for Virginians struggling during a once-in-a-generation global health pandemic,” Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar said in a statement. “The Department of Justice is grateful to the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and the Virginia Employment Commission for their hard work and commitment to investigating these cases and bringing these individuals to justice.”
According to the Department of Justice, the conspirators lied on filings as part of a scheme to make people appear eligible for benefits. The government paid the benefits to the claimants who were not eligible, including several inmates who were incarcerated in southwest Virginia regional jails at the time.
“Investigating those who fraudulently take funds from pandemic relief programs will continue to be a focus of IRS-C,” Darrell J. Waldon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Washington DC Field Office, said in a statement. “These programs were put into place to assist those struggling through the global crisis, not to be used for personal enrichment.”
The five people face a maximum of 30 years in prison. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel J. Murphy was the prosecutor.
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