A man from Prince George’s County, Maryland, has been sentenced to over four years in federal prison for his role in a scheme that defrauded unemployment insurance programs out of hundreds of thousands of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Isiah Lewis, 35, was ordered to serve 53 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
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The scheme, which operated from at least June 2020 through March 2021, involved Lewis and two co-conspirators, Michael Cooley, Jr., also of Prince George’s County, and Alonzo Brown, of Richmond, Virginia. Together, they aimed to defraud victim individuals and multiple state workforce agencies, including those in Maryland and California. The group successfully obtained over $300,000 in unemployment benefits, with the overall scheme targeting more than $800,000. Lewis was also ordered to pay $310,428.08 in restitution to the victims of the crime and to forfeit assets derived from the fraudulent activities. Previously, Cooley was sentenced to 87 months in prison, and Brown received a 45-month sentence for their involvement.
The conspiracy involved the use of personal identifying information, such as names, dates of birth, and social security numbers, belonging to over 60 individuals. This information was used to submit online unemployment insurance applications to both the Maryland Department of Labor and the California Employment Development Department. The perpetrators utilized anonymous email addresses to conceal their identities and evade detection. This case is part of the District of Maryland’s COVID-19 Strike Force, a coordinated effort by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute fraud related to pandemic relief funds. The strike forces are designed to identify and prosecute individuals and criminal organizations that have exploited pandemic relief measures, such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was intended to provide financial assistance to those affected by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
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