Category: USDJ National Center for Disaster Fraud

Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

Defendant obtained victim’s personal information to file false and fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.

Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

MIAMI – The owner of Theophin Consulting LLC has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining Covid-19 relief loan proceeds under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) program.

Rudy Theophin, 41, of Miramar, Fla., was the president and sole owner of Theophin Consulting LLC. In June 2020, Theophin submitted an online PPP loan application for $123,675 through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide relief for the economic effect caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The loan application and supporting documentation falsely stated the number of employees and the average monthly payroll for Theophin Consulting. Once approved, Theophin transferred a portion of the funds to another person, another portion to an investment account in his name, and he used the remaining funds toward the purchase of a condominium. Theophin ran for mayor of Miramar in 2023.

A sentencing hearing is set on July 15 in Fort Lauderdale before U.S. District Court Judge Rodney Smith. Theophin faces up to 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Emmanuel Gomez of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

IRS-CI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Killoran is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jorge Delgado is handling asset forfeiture. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-60233.

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Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Denys Perez (31, Tampa) has pleaded guilting to wire fraud related to COVID relief funds. Perez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. In addition, he faces a forfeiture order of $502,900, as well as a forfeiture order for the property he purchased with proceeds of his offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, between September 2021 and January 2022, Perez applied for COVID relief funds through the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Based on the information submitted by Perez, he was awarded $502,900 in EIDL funds. As part of the application process, Perez certified he would use all the EIDL proceeds solely as working capital to alleviate the economic injury caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to this certification, Perez fraudulently spent more than $300,000 of his EIDL on personal expenses, including the purchase of a house.  

In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. 

This case was investigated by the Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Merrilyn E. Hoenemeyer.

To report a COVID-related fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

ABINGDON, Va. – Two more of the 17 defendants charged with conspiring to defraud the United States, commit program fraud, and commit mail fraud in connection to a scheme involving  filing  fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment benefits, were sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Abingdon.

Last week, Clinton Michael Altizer and Jeramy Blake Farmer were each sentenced to 12 months and 1 day for their roles in the conspiracy.

Previously sentenced as part of the conspiracy were:  Christopher Webb, 20 months; Russell Stiltner, 24 months; Jessica  Lester, 19 months; Cara Camille Bailey, 19 months; Justin Meadows, 18 months; Terrence Vilacha, 18 months; Joseph Hass, 27 months; Brian Addair, 24 months; and Stephanie Amber Barton and Hayleigh McKenzie Wolfe were each sentenced to 12 months and 1 day.

Jonathan Webb, the individual charged with recruiting others to file fraudulent claims, mostly inmates at local jails, was sentenced to 48 months was ordered to pay $150,218 in restitution.

All defendants were also ordered to pay restitution to the Virginia Employment Commission for the amount of their individual fraudulent claims.

According to court documents, between March 2020 and September 2021, Josef Brown, Jonathan Webb, and Crystal Shaw developed a scheme to file fraudulent claims and recertifications for pandemic unemployment befits via the Virginia Employment Commission website. The scheme involved the collection of personal identification information (PII) of inmates housed at SWVRJA-Haysi and Abingdon, as well as personal friends and acquaintances of Brown, Webb, and Shaw. The conspirators used that information to file fraudulent claims and recertifications for pandemic unemployment benefits for incarcerated individuals and others who were ineligible for the benefits.

In all, the defendants stole $341,205 in pandemic relief to which they were not entitled.

As part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Task Force, this investigation was conducted by the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. The PRAC’s 20 member Inspectors General were charged with identifying major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending. According to the United States Department of Labor, Virginia paid approximately $1.1 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.

Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee, Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division, and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced the sentences.

Agencies that assisted with this investigation included the Dickenson County Sheriff’s Office, the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority, the FBI, U.S. Department of Labor, and the Virginia Employment Commission.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Suzanne Kerney-Quillen, a Senior Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Section, and Assistant United States Attorney Danielle Stone are prosecuting the case for the United States.

Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

            MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On April 2, 2025, a federal judge ordered that 34-year-old Michelle Denise McIntyre, a resident of Tallassee, Alabama, receive a sentence of 114 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges related to grants received through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund program, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. Following her prison sentence, McIntyre will be on supervised release for three years. Federal inmates are not eligible for parole. 

           The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), which was directly administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), was established in March 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act.  The RRF was a financial assistance program designed to provide eligible restaurants with funding equal to their COVID-19 pandemic-related revenue losses. RRF recipients were not required to repay the funding as long as they used the funds for eligible expenses.

           According to her plea agreement, McIntyre admitted that, in May of 2021, she applied for RRF grants falsely claiming she began operating a catering business on December 16, 2019. In the application, McIntyre included false receipts and documents purporting to show food orders for the business. McIntyre’s false representations in her application and in supporting documents caused the SBA to award her grants totaling $131,478.76. Court documents indicate McIntyre did not use the funds for eligible expenses. Instead, McIntyre used the illegal proceeds to purchase a vehicle, among other unauthorized personal expenses.

            According to court records and statements made during her sentencing hearing, McIntyre was also responsible for fraudulently applying for Paycheck Protection Program Loans, Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Advances, and additional RRF money on behalf of herself and others. All of these funds were intended to help struggling small businesses amidst the COVID-19 disaster. McIntyre operated a business where she charged up-front fees to file pandemic relief applications on others’ behalf, regardless of their eligibility. If an application was successful, she required her clients to pay her a portion of the money they received. All told, McIntyre caused losses to the Small Business Administration exceeding $700,000; and if all of her false applications had been funded, the SBA would have suffered additional losses exceeding $14 million. Restitution will be determined at a later date.

            “Fraud committed against federal programs is fraud against the American taxpayer,” said Acting United States Attorney Davidson. “I commend the investigative agencies for their diligent work in this case. My office will continue to do its part in prosecuting those who seek easy profit at the expense of every hard-working United States citizen.”

            “Exploiting SBA’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund and COVID relief programs for personal gain is a serious offense that diverts critical resources away from legitimate small businesses in need,” said SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite. “I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”

            “Five years after the enactment of the CARES Act, individuals who defrauded the programs intended to help Americans are still being held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents, law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorney’s office will continue their aggressive pursuit of those who defrauded the programs under the CARES Act.”

            The Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, U.S. Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the FBI Mobile Field Office investigated this case, which Assistant United States Attorney Megan A. Kirkpatrick prosecuted. 

Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that VICTORIA KATES, 34, of New Britain, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to offenses related to her fraudulent receipt of COVID-19 relief funds.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  One program created by the CARES Act was a temporary federal unemployment insurance program for pandemic unemployment assistance (“Pandemic Unemployment Assistance”).  Pandemic Unemployment Assistance provided unemployment insurance (“UI”) benefits for employed individuals who were not eligible for other types of UI due to their employment status.  The CARES Act also created a new temporary federal program called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (“FPUC”) that provided additional weekly benefits to those eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or regular UI.  The Connecticut Department of Labor (CT-DOL) administers UI benefits for residents of Connecticut.

From March 2020 through May 2021, Kates defrauded the CT-DOL of $217,056 by filing fraudulent unemployment applications with the CT-DOL on behalf of her family, acquaintances, and others.  Kates prepared and submitted the original applications and, in certain instances, submitted required weekly recertifications of the applicant’s purported continued unemployment status.  Kates took a portion of the payouts as a fee.

As an example, in August 2020, Kates submitted an online unemployment application to the CT-DOL for a friend that made several false representations, including that the applicant was a self-employed driver who worked 40 hours per week, when, in fact, the applicant was neither self-employed nor worked the hours represented.  Kates also used her home address as the applicant’s address.  Based on the original application and weekly certifications, the CT-DOL made $27,993 in payments, with Kates taking at least $1,000 to $1,500 as a fee.  When the CT-DOL demanded proof of legal wages and proof of address, Kates created and provided to the CT-DOL a fraudulent IRS form showing the applicant’s purported gross wages for 2019, and a cropped photograph of a business envelope to make it appear that the applicant had lived at the represented address.

Another source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  In April 2020, Congress authorized more than $300 billion in additional PPP funding.  The PPP allowed qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive unsecured loans at an interest rate of 1%.  PPP loan proceeds were to be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spent the proceeds on these expenses within a certain period of time of receipt and used at least a certain percentage of the amount to be forgiven for payroll.

The PPP was overseen by the Small Business Administration, which has authority over all PPP loans.  Individual PPP loans, however, were issued by private approved lenders, which received and processed PPP applications and supporting documentation, and then made loans using the lenders’ own funds, which were guaranteed by the SBA.

In 2021, Kates applied for and received $16,250 through the PPP loan program by making false representations, including overstating her yearly gross income.  Kates also provided a false IRS filing to support the income figure on the application.  She subsequently provided additional fraudulent information to obtain forgiveness of the loan.

Kates pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count.  Judge Nagala scheduled sentencing for September 2.  Kates is released on a $40,000 bond pending sentencing.

This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.

Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. 

Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

Orlando, FL – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Joshua Robinson (32, Texas) has pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Robinson faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, between July 2020 and August 2021, Robinson devised a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA) by submitting false and fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications. Specifically, Robinson submitted an EIDL application and a PPP application for businesses that he knew he did not own. Robinson obtained $13,100 from the EIDL application and $19,133 from the PPP application. Robinson then fraudulently obtained forgiveness of his PPP loan. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General together with the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie A. McNeff.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit Justice.gov/Coronavirus and Justice.gov/Coronavirus/CombatingFraud.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by contacting the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

Baltimore, Maryland – David Godin, 34, aka “James St Patrick,” aka “David Wetty,” aka “Vic Pro,” of Miami, Florida, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with a scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) and California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD). Godin attempted to defraud MD-DOL and CA-EDD of more than $2.3 million in unemployment insurance (UI) benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), and Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office.

According to the plea agreement, from June 2020 through November 2023, Godin engaged in a sophisticated scheme to defraud the MD-DOL and CA-EDD by using the personal identifiable information of identity theft victims, anonymous email addresses, virtual private networks, and proxy servers.  This enabled Godin to file numerous fraudulent UI claims with multiple states from a single location; aggregate UI information in discrete accounts; and avoid fraud safeguards put in place by state insurance programs.

Godin submitted and caused the submission of at least 140 fraudulent UI claims to MD-DOL, CA-EDD, and other state workforce agencies, resulting in approximately $2,364,226 in UI benefits. He obtained $1,087,345.66 through the fraud scheme. As part of the plea agreement, Godin is required to pay restitution of $1,087,345.66. Additionally, Godin must forfeit money, property, and/or assets that he obtained through the scheme, including a money judgment of at least $1,087,345.66.

Godin faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud scheme and a consecutive mandatory minimum sentence of two years in federal prison for using the personal identifiable information of identity theft victims during and in relation to the fraudulent activities.   A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox has scheduled sentencing for June 30, at 10 a.m.   

This case is part of the District of Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force, a Strike Force that is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.  The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

For more information about the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended DOL-OIG and IRS-CI for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bijon A. Mostoufi and Jared M. Beim, who are prosecuting the federal case, and Joanna N. Huber, who is supporting the case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

Defendant admitted to spending portions of fraudulent-loan proceeds on a Lamborghini and home renovations.

Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

Defendant obtained people’s personal information to file false and fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.