MARYLAND News (10/3/2024) – On October 1, 2024, Jonathan Henry, age 32, a federal inmate, was sentenced to 97 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, along with aggravated identity theft, linked to fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance benefits provided through the CARES Act. Following his prison term, Henry will serve three years of supervised release and is required to pay $1,894,971 in restitution.
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Henry’s conviction stems from a scheme that involved the submission of fraudulent unemployment insurance claims under the CARES Act, a federal law enacted in March 2020 to help Americans facing economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with co-defendant Kenneth Dodd and another individual, Henry orchestrated a plan that capitalized on unemployment benefits programs such as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and the Lost Wages Assistance Program (LWAP).
Dodd, who was sentenced earlier, received a 42-month prison term for his participation in the scheme. His sentence will run consecutively with a prior federal sentence he is already serving. Jason Haddox, a third defendant in the case, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 24, 2025.
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According to the plea agreements, the conspiracy lasted from March 22, 2020, to at least June 2021, while Henry, Dodd, and Haddox were incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix. They, along with other co-conspirators inside and outside the prison, submitted fraudulent applications for unemployment benefits using the personal identifying information (PII) of identity theft victims. These fraudulent claims, primarily submitted in Maryland but also in other states including Washington, D.C., Virginia, and North Carolina, led to the issuance of prepaid debit cards by the Maryland Department of Labor. The defendants used these cards to withdraw funds from ATMs and make retail purchases.
Henry admitted to submitting approximately 191 fraudulent claims, of which 152 were paid out, resulting in the actual loss of nearly $1.9 million.
The investigation was conducted by the District of Maryland’s Strike Force, part of a broader effort by the U.S. Department of Justice to address large-scale COVID-19 fraud, particularly those involving criminal organizations and transnational actors. This strike force is one of five across the United States, working to bring those responsible for pandemic relief fraud to justice.
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The sentencing was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, along with Troy W. Springer, Special Agent in Charge of the National Capital Region U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), and Damon E. Wood, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) – Washington Division. U.S. Attorney Barron commended the investigative work of both agencies and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, who prosecuted the case.
The public is encouraged to report any suspected COVID-19-related fraud to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud via the hotline at 866-720-5721 or the online complaint form available at the Department of Justice’s website.
Story by multiple RFHC contributors
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