Georgia siblings sentenced to federal prison for defrauding unemployment, COVID-19 relief programs

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia, dated June 10, 2024, announcing that La'Kyera Me'Lika Thurmond and Brandon Jamal Thurmond were each sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall ordered the siblings to pay $140,228 in restitution. The release states, citing court documents and testimony, that the Thurmonds used fraudulent documents to file for unemployment benefits in multiple states and filed fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program applications in Brandon Thurmond's name and others. The release states that the restitution covers payments from Georgia and Arizona unemployment programs, the SBA and a financial services company.

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PRESS RELEASE



Georgia siblings sentenced to
federal prison for defrauding
unemployment, COVID-19 relief
programs
Monday, June 10, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia

Sentence includes more than $140,000 in restitution

AUGUSTA, GA: Two Georgia siblings have been sentenced to federal prison and
ordered to repay stolen funds after pleading guilty in a fraud conspiracy.

La’Kyera Me’Lika Thurmond, 35, of Snellville, Ga., and Brandon Jamal Thurmond, 34,
of Lilburn, Ga., were sentenced in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to Conspiracy
to Commit Wire Fraud, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of
Georgia. Each was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by three years of
supervised release. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered the siblings to
pay $140,228 in restitution.

“Programs that provided unemployment benefits and disaster relief served as a lifeline
to small businesses during the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “The
Thurmonds’ greed-fueled scheme targeted both programs, and they’re now being held
accountable for their crimes.”

As described in court documents and testimony, the Thurmonds used fraudulent
documents to file for unemployment benefits in multiple states for Brandon Thurmond –
who was serving a prison sentence on state charges in Georgia at the time and therefore
ineligible to receive unemployment benefits – and for other individuals through the
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program and other relief initiatives.
The Thurmond siblings also filed multiple fraudulent applications in Brandon
Thurmond’s name and others seeking Paycheck Protection Program funding through
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act administered by the
Small Business Administration.

The restitution in the case represents payments the Thurmonds and others fraudulently
received for unemployment benefits from Georgia and Arizona, and for COVID-19 relief
payments from the SBA and a financial services company.

“It is disheartening to see the willingness of some individuals to take advantage of
programs intended to help people in need during a national and world crisis,” said
Matthew Ploskunak, Senior Supervisory Special Agent of FBI Atlanta’s Augusta office.
“The Thurmond’s personal greed affects every tax paying citizen, in particular those who
needed help most. The FBI will make every effort to make sure federal funds are used as
intended.”

“Abusing SBA’s pandemic relief programs intended to provide critical relief to small
businesses is unconscionable,” said SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge
Amaleka McCall-Braithwaite. “This sentencing further showcases that OIG will
relentlessly pursue fraudsters and bring them to justice. I want to thank the U.S.
Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and
commitment to seeing justice served.”

“These current sentencings of those who committed fraud on COVID-19 relief programs
is sending the message that accountability is coming for those who did the same,” said
Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta
Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement
partners will continue finding and investigating individuals who chose greed over the
well-being of their fellow Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“The Thurmonds engaged in an unemployment insurance (UI) fraud scheme targeted at
multiple state workforce agencies. They used the identities of others to submit
fraudulent UI applications. As a result, they stole UI benefits intended for individuals
who experienced financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mathew
Broadhurst, Special Agent-in-Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office
of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to
protect the integrity of these critical benefit programs.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Small Business Administration Office of
Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor, and
prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer A. Stanley.
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.

Contact
Barry L. Paschal, Public Affairs Officer: 912-652-4422

Updated June 10, 2024

Topics
DISASTER FRAUD

FINANCIAL FRAUD
Components
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
USAO - Georgia, Southern

Press Release Number: 32-24


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