Case docket
United States v. James Lomax — U.S. District Court, S.D. W. Va.
United States v. James Lomax — 11 court filings in the archive from U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, filed between May 15, 2024 and August 15, 2025. Among them: 2 orders, 2 sentencing memoranda and 1 information.
See also: United States v. James Lomax — U.S. District Court, S.D. W. Va. — the same docket (docket No. 2:25-cr-00057) under another case page, 14 public filings. Full docket →
Case facts
| Court | U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Filings | 11 public filings |
| Filed | 2024-05-15 – 2025-08-15 |
| Document types | orders (2), sentencing memoranda (2), information (1), plea agreement (1), response or reply (1), judgment (1) |
| Original PDFs | 11 of 11 |
Case summary
James Lomax was charged by information on May 29, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, No. 2:25-cr-00057, and pleaded guilty on April 23, 2025 to the single count, theft of public money, property or records under 18 U.S.C. § 641, with the offense ended July 18, 2020. The government's sentencing memorandum states that he was a sales associate at a car dealership, was laid off when the pandemic began in March 2020, applied for unemployment benefits from Workforce West Virginia on March 24, 2020 and was approved for $424 a week. An order of forfeiture of April 28, 2025 records a money judgment of $13,312.00. Sentence was imposed August 14, 2025: thirty-six months' probation and restitution of $13,312.00.
Case at a glance
| Defendant(s) | James Lomax |
|---|---|
| Court and docket | U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, Charleston, No. 2:25-cr-00057 |
| Program | State unemployment benefits from Workforce West Virginia, subsidised under the CARES Act |
| Charges | Theft of public money, property or records, 18 U.S.C. § 641, the single count of the information; offense ended 7/18/2020 |
| Outcome and sentence | Pleaded guilty April 23, 2025; sentenced August 14, 2025 to thirty-six months' probation with restitution of $13,312.00 as a special condition; judgment entered August 15, 2025 |
| Counts of conviction | Pleaded guilty to count one of a single-count information, theft of public money, property or records, 18 U.S.C. § 641, offense ended 7/18/2020 (judgment of August 15, 2025, p. 1) |
| Sentence imposed | Thirty-six months' probation (p. 2), with home confinement for four months as a substitute for imprisonment, enforced with electronic monitoring (p. 5); the sentencing hearing minutes of August 14, 2025 print "Probation: 36 months with 4 months on home confinement" (Dkt. 29, p. 1) |
| Restitution | $13,312.00 to WorkForce West Virginia; interest waived; monthly installments of no less than $100, the first due within 60 days (pp. 6-7) |
| Fine and assessment | Fine $0.00; special assessment $100.00, due immediately (pp. 6-7); the hearing minutes print "Fine: none imposed" and "Assessment: $100" (Dkt. 29, p. 1) |
| Forfeiture | A money judgment in the amount of $13,312.00, pursuant to the plea agreement and the Order of Forfeiture (Document 18) entered April 28, 2025 (p. 8); order of forfeiture of April 28, 2025: forfeiture money judgment of $13,312.00 in United States currency, more or less (Dkt. 18, p. 1) |
| Status checked | 2026-09-23 · against the court docket and DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22 |
What did the government ask for?
Its sentencing memorandum requested a guideline sentence of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, $13,312 in restitution and a $100 special assessment, noting that § 641 carries a maximum of ten years' imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment and an order of restitution, and that the probation office calculated the total offense level as 6.
What do the sentencing filings say about the benefits?
The government's memorandum states that Lomax was laid off from Charleston Suzuki in St. Albans, West Virginia when the pandemic began and properly applied for unemployment benefits on March 24, 2020, approved at $424 a week. The defense memorandum states that he returned to work at the dealership but continued to collect the benefits.
What was forfeited?
A forfeiture money judgment of $13,312.00 in United States currency, sought in the information's forfeiture allegation under 18 U.S.C. §§ 981 and 982 or 28 U.S.C. § 2461 and entered by consent on April 28, 2025.
Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.
Filings
11 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.
- Sealed Memorandum Opinion and Order — In re: James LomaxPDF
- Information — U.S. v. LomaxInformation · PDF
- Order (Guilty Plea) — U.S. v. LomaxOrder · PDF
- Plea Agreement — U.S. v. LomaxPlea agreement · PDF
- Plea Hearing Minute Entry — U.S. v. LomaxPDF
- Order of Forfeiture — U.S. v. LomaxOrder · PDF
- Response to Defendant's Sentencing Memorandum — U.S. v. LomaxResponse or reply · PDF
- Sentencing Memorandum of the United States — U.S. v. LomaxSentencing memorandum · PDF
- Defendant's Sentencing Memorandum — U.S. v. Lomax (S.D. W. Va.)Sentencing memorandum · PDF
- Sentencing Minute Entry — U.S. v. LomaxPDF
- Judgment in a Criminal Case — U.S. v. LomaxJudgment · PDF
Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.