Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring with Former State Contractor to Steal $550,000

Summary

A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, dated Tuesday, July 11, 2023, announcing that William Haynes, 26, of Detroit pleaded guilty before Judge Mark A. Goldsmith to conspiring with Autumn Mims, a former contract Unemployment Insurance Examiner for the State of Michigan. According to court records, Mims used insider access from August 2020 to fraudulently process claims in the names of third parties, and Haynes altered direct deposit information, opened unauthorized bank accounts and made cash withdrawals of the benefits. Court records state that over $550,000 in fraudulent unemployment assistance payments were made. The release states that Haynes agreed to restitution of $448,614, with sentencing set for November 28, 2023.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

PRESS RELEASE



Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to
Conspiring with Former State
Contractor to Steal $550,000 in
Unemployment Insurance Benefits
Tuesday, July 11, 2023


For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan

DETROIT – A Detroit resident pleaded guilty today to engaging in an extensive
unemployment fraud conspiracy with a former State of Michigan Unemployment
Insurance Agency contract employee, whereby they stole over $550,000 in public funds,
announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Joining in the announcement were Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes
Region, U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General; Devin Kowalski, Acting
Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Detroit Field Office; and
Julia Dale, Director of the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.

William Haynes, 26, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Mark A.
Goldsmith. Haynes admitted to engaging in a criminal conspiracy with Autumn Mims, a
former contract Unemployment Insurance Examiner for the State of Michigan. Mims’s
duties included reviewing, processing, and verifying the legitimacy of unemployment
insurance claims.

Mims previously pleaded guilty to the same charge and is currently awaiting sentencing
before Judge Goldsmith.

According to court records, shortly after Mims began working with the Michigan
Unemployment Insurance Agency in August 2020, she began using her insider access to
fraudulently process claims in the names of third parties without their knowledge or
authorization. As part of the scheme, Haynes (1) altered direct deposit information for
third-party unemployment insurance assistance; (2) accessed third-party unemployment
insurance assistance claim information without authorization; (3) completed false and
fraudulent certifications for third-party unemployment insurance assistance benefits; (4)
opened unauthorized bank accounts in the names of third parties; (5) provided stolen
personal identifying information to his co-conspirator, Mims; (6) conducted cash
withdrawals of unemployment insurance assistance issued in the names of third parties;
(7) conducted financial transactions utilizing unemployment insurance assistance funds
issued in the names of third parties; and (8) received non-cash benefits from his
involvement in the conspiracy, including rent payments made by his co-conspirator
Mims.

According to court records, as a result of the conspiracy, over $550,000 in fraudulent
unemployment assistance payments were made by the State of Michigan. Haynes has
agreed to be held accountable for $448,614 in restitution.

Sentencing is set for November 28, 2023, before Judge Goldsmith. Haynes faces up to
20 years’ imprisonment.

“We are committed to prosecuting those who engage in schemes to steal public funds,”
stated U.S. Attorney Ison. “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners
to bring them to justice, whether they are insiders who abuse their positions of trust or
outsiders who enable that abuse.”

"William Haynes conspired with former Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency
Examiner Autumn Mims to defraud the state of Michigan. Haynes worked with Mims to
certify Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) unemployment insurance (UI) claims
he knew were fraudulent. The proceeds from the fraudulent claims were deposited into
bank accounts that Haynes and Mims controlled. We will continue to work with our law
enforcement partners and state workforce agencies to protect the integrity of the UI
system," stated Special Agent-in-Charge Irene Lindow, Great Lakes Region, U.S.
Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

“Haynes used his co-defendant’s official position at the Michigan Unemployment
Insurance Agency to steal money from people who were struggling through pandemic-
related economic challenges,” said Devin J. Kowalski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of
the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “The FBI will continue working alongside our state and
federal partners to investigate this type of scheme and bring to justice those who
defraud the unemployment system.”

“Add William Haynes to the growing list of fraudsters that UIA’s investigators have
identified as brazenly violating the trust Michiganders put in an unemployment system
that is their lifeline when they lost work,” said Julia Dale, Director of the Michigan
Unemployment Insurance Agency. “That Mr. Haynes found a willing accomplice within
the UIA to help carry out his devious scheme is also appalling. Today’s guilty plea should
put bad actors on notice that the UIA won’t tolerate the theft of public funds. Our nearly
50 convictions so far prove they won’t get away with defrauding taxpayers.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Yahkind. The
investigation is being conducted jointly by the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector
General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Unemployment Insurance Agency,
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

Updated July 11, 2023

Topic
CORONAVIRUS


Component
USAO - Michigan, Eastern


File and source

File

2023-07-18-Detroit-Man-Pleads-Guilty-to-Conspiring-with-Former-State-Contractor-to-Steal-550-000-in-Unemployme.pdf

Size

169,893 bytes

SHA-256

9a08092865ae63519147b7b1233f966762c5f00b487bad500a961eeca3c0638d

Our copy

2023-07-18-Detroit-Man-Pleads-Guilty-to-Conspiring-with-Former-State-Contractor-to-Steal-550-000-in-Unemployme.pdf

Original

No public link identified.