New Jersey Man Arrested for Unemployment Fraud Related to COVID-19 Pandemic
Summary
A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts dated Wednesday, August 25, 2021, announcing the arrest of a New Jersey man. It states that Omar Thompson, 39, of Paterson, was charged with one count of wire fraud and released on conditions after an initial appearance in the District of New Jersey. According to the charging documents, Thompson and a co-conspirator submitted more than 100 fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims resulting in more than $1.2 million in payments, about half on behalf of people residing outside Massachusetts. The release states that Thompson allegedly recruited people from other states to apply and received kickback payments, and that the charging documents contain allegations only.
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“New Jersey Man Arrested for Unemployment Fraud Related to COVID-19 Pandemic.”
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Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Massachusetts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, August 25, 2021
New Jersey Man Arrested for Unemployment Fraud Related
to COVID-19 Pandemic
BOSTON – A New Jersey man was arrested today in connection with his alleged involvement in a
scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.
Omar Thompson, 39, of Paterson, N.J., was charged with one count of wire fraud. Thompson made
an initial appearance in federal court in the District of New Jersey today and was released on
conditions. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
In March 2020, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act created a temporary federal
unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which in
Massachusetts is administered by the Department of Unemployment Assistance. This program
provides unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who are not eligible for other types of
unemployment benefits.
According to the charging documents, Thompson and his co-conspirator submitted more than 100
fraudulent PUA claims resulting in more than $1.2 million in payments. It is alleged that
approximately half of the PUA claims were made on behalf of individuals residing outside of
Massachusetts. In some instances, Thompson allegedly recruited individuals from other states to
apply for PUA in Massachusetts, submitted claims on their behalf, and received kickback payments
for doing so.
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of
supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge
based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Frederick J. Regan, Special Agent in Charge of
the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office; and Nikitas Splagounias, Acting Special Agent in Charge
of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations made the
announcement. The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, Secret Service, Newark Field Office, and New Jersey State Police provided
assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of Mendell’s
Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
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, among other methods,
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 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.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Topic(s):
Coronavirus
Component(s):
USAO - Massachusetts
Updated August 25, 2021
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