Milwaukee Women Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Unemployment Benefits During COVID Pandemic

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin, dated August 17, 2023, announcing that United States District Court Judge Brett H. Ludwig sentenced Nikki Brown of Milwaukee to 33 months in federal prison. Brown previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. According to documents filed in the case, Brown recruited third parties and used their personally identifiable information (PII) to file fraudulent unemployment claims in six different states, including Wisconsin, resulting in $494,498 in unemployment benefits. The release quotes United States Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad and Irene Lindow of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, which investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Peter Smyczek is prosecuting.

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Milwaukee Women Sentenced to
Prison for Stealing Unemployment
Benefits During COVID Pandemic
Thursday, August 17, 2023

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

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
Wisconsin, announced that on August 17, 2023, United States District Court Judge Brett
H. Ludwig sentenced Nikki Brown (age: 43) of Milwaukee to 33 months in federal prison
for stealing $494,498 in unemployment benefits made available under the CARES Act
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nikki Brown previously pled guilty to one count of wire
fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 for executing a scheme to defraud various state
unemployment benefits programs.

According to documents filed in the case, Brown recruited third parties to help file
fraudulent federal unemployment claims in six different states, including Wisconsin.
Brown convinced dozens of people to give her their personally identifiable information
(PII) by promising to give them a portion of the fraud proceeds. Brown then used the
PII to file false and fraudulent unemployment claims, which resulted in her stealing
$494,498 of unemployment benefits.

Over the past few years, the Department of Justice has led an historic enforcement
initiative to detect and disrupt COVID-19 related fraud. To date, those efforts have
resulted in criminal charges against over 1,500 defendants with alleged losses exceeding
$1.1 billion; the seizure of over $1.2 billion in relief funds; and civil investigations into
more than 1,800 individuals and entities for alleged misconduct in connection with
pandemic relief loans totaling more than $6 billion.

United States Attorney Haanstad stated: “Prosecuting those who steal from federal
benefits programs remains a top priority for the Department of Justice and my
office. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to hold those,
like Ms. Brown, who enrich themselves by defrauding COVID-19 benefit programs fully
accountable.”
“Nikki Brown’s sentencing reiterates the Office of Inspector General’s commitment to
bringing to justice those who conspire to file fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI)
claims. Protecting the integrity of the UI program is one of our highest priorities, and we
will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the UI program
for those who need it,” said Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S.
Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Great Lakes Region.

In May 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 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.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, investigated the case, and is
being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter Smyczek.

                                          ###




For Additional Information Contact:

Public Information Officer

Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov

414-297-1700




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Updated August 17, 2023
Component
USAO - Wisconsin, Eastern


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