Maryland Man Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Federal Prison for Unemployment Insurance Benefits Scheme During COVID-19 Pandemic

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland, dated April 4, 2025. U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby sentenced Michael Cooley, Jr. of Prince George's County, Maryland, to 87 months in federal prison after a January 2025 guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to the plea, from at least June 2020 through March 2021 Cooley conspired with Isiah Lewis and Alonzo Brown to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor and California Employment Development Department of more than $800,000 in unemployment insurance benefits, successfully obtaining more than $300,000. Judge Griggsby found that Cooley had a managerial role and ordered restitution of $310,428.08.

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“Maryland Man Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Federal Prison for Unemployment Insurance Benefits Scheme During COVID-19 Pandemic.” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2025-04-09-maryland-man-sentenced-to-more-than-seven-years-in-federal-0da55bc128/, SHA-256 41ab7df44aa8ee9861156b364c91978da784c04b04b0538824d69258dcdd1538.

Full text

PRESS RELEASE

Maryland Man Sentenced to More Than
Seven Years in Federal Prison for
Unemployment Insurance Benefits
Scheme During COVID-19 Pandemic
Friday, April 4, 2025

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

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby sentenced Michael
Cooley, Jr., aka “Micheal Cooley Jr.,” “5Micmusik,” and “Michael White,” 26, of Prince
George’s County, Maryland, to 87 months in federal prison. In January 2025, Cooley pled
guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection
with a conspiracy and scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor and
California Employment Development Department.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentencing
with Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, National Capital Region, U.S. Department
of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), and Special Agent in Charge Kareem
A. Carter, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C.
Field Office.

According to the guilty plea, from at least June 2020 through March 2021, Cooley
conspired with Isiah Lewis, 35, of Prince George’s County, and Alonzo Brown, 27, of
Virginia, to devise and execute a scheme to defraud individuals and multiple state
workforce agencies, including in Maryland and California, of more than $800,000 in
unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, successfully obtaining more than $300,000. The
scheme was sophisticated and used personal identifiable information — such as name,
date of birth, and social security number — from more than 60 individuals to file online
UI applications in Maryland and California, using anonymous email addresses to obscure
their identities and avoid detection.

At sentencing, Judge Griggsby found that Cooley held a managerial role in the
conspiracy. Additionally, Judge Griggsby ordered Cooley to pay restitution of
$310,428.08 to the victims and to forfeit all money, property, and/or assets derived from
the scheme, including a money judgment of $310,428.08.

This case is part of the District of Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force, a Strike Force that is
one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S.
Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud
relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES
Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the
economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike forces focus on large-
scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and
transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using
prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice
those who stole pandemic relief funds.

For more information about the Department’s response to the pandemic,
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.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DOL-OIG and IRS-CI for their work in the
investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bijon A. Mostoufi, who
prosecuted the federal case, and Joanna B.N. Huber, who supported the case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and
resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-
md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

###

Contact
Kevin Nash
USAMD.Press@usdoj.gov
410-209-4946

Updated April 4, 2025

Topics
CORONAVIRUS
FINANCIAL FRAUD
Component
USAO - Maryland

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