Pontiac Man Pleads Guilty in $4M Identity Theft

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan, dated April 23, 2025. Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced that Terrance Calhoun, Jr. of Pontiac, Michigan, pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices. According to the plea agreement, Calhoun and others filed hundreds of false unemployment claims in Michigan, Arizona, and Maryland, producing debit cards loaded with over $4 million in unemployment insurance funds, and roughly $1.6 million in purchases and cash withdrawals were made from the cards. Sentencing is set for August 27, 2025, before United States District Court Judge Judith E. Levy.

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PRESS RELEASE


Pontiac Man Pleads Guilty in $4M Identity
Theft and Unemployment Fraud Case
Wednesday, April 23, 2025

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

DETROIT – A Pontiac man has pleaded guilty to committing aggravated identity theft
and wire fraud as part of large-scale, multi-state Unemployment Insurance benefit fraud
scheme in which he and co-conspirators fraudulently obtained debit cards loaded with
more than $4 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds, Acting United
States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced today.

Joining in the announcement were Megan Howell, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge,
Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent-
in-Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division, Charles
Miller, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations,
Douglas Zloto, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Sean McStravick, Acting
Inspector-in-Charge, U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, and Director Jason
Palmer, State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.

Terrance Calhoun, Jr., 36, of Pontiac, Michigan, pleaded guilty to committing aggravated
identity theft, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and to possessing 15 or more
unauthorized access devices, all in relation to acts of unemployment insurance fraud.

According to his plea agreement, Calhoun Jr., and others, used stolen personal
identification and filed hundreds of false unemployment claims with state
unemployment insurance agencies in Michigan, Arizona, and Maryland over a six-month
period in the names of other individuals without their knowledge or consent. Those false
claims resulted in hundreds of debit cards loaded with over $4 million in unemployment
insurance funds being mailed to addresses controlled by Calhoun Jr. and his co-
conspirators. Roughly $1.6 million dollars in purchases and cash withdrawals were then
successfully made from the cards.

As described within a prior complaint, when agents executed search warrants at the
principal mailing addresses used for the fraudulent unemployment insurance benefit
claims, including the residence of Calhoun Jr., agents seized numerous documents
containing the personal identification information of other individuals, multiple debit
cards in the names of numerous other individuals, and firearms.

Calhoun now faces a possible sentence of up to 20-years’ imprisonment for each of the
wire fraud counts to which he has pleaded guilty, a possible sentence of up to 10-years’
imprisonment for possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices, and a
mandatorily consecutive 2-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft charge to
which he has pleaded guilty.

Sentencing is set for August 27, 2025 before United States District Court Judge Judith E.
Levy.

“Taxpayer money diverted into the pockets of criminals means less money going to
Michiganders who actually need help getting through difficult financial times and who
follow the rules when seeking assistance,” said Acting US Attorney Beck. “These charges
reflect our office’s ongoing commitment to the community by investigating such
schemes and bringing those who commit these crimes to justice.”

“Terrance Calhoun Jr and his co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud state
workforce agencies in Michigan, Arizona, and Maryland by filing hundreds of fraudulent
unemployment insurance (UI) claims. As a result, Calhoun enriched himself by stealing
taxpayer resources intended for unemployed American workers. We will continue to
work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the UI program from
those who seek to exploit it,” said Megan Howell, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Great
Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

“Individuals who commit identity theft and unemployment insurance fraud of this
magnitude deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” said Charles Miller,
Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-
CI). “Terrance Calhoun, Jr. and Jermaine Arnett demonstrated a blatant disregard of the
integrity of the multiple states’ unemployment insurance systems and caused
immeasurable hardship to innocent victims. IRS-CI remains committed to the pursuit of
identity theft and financial fraud, and together with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s
Office, we will hold those who engage in similar crimes accountable.”

"The FBI in Michigan, alongside our law enforcement partners, remains steadfast in
protecting the community and investigating individuals who violate federal law,” said
Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Today’s
guilty plea by Terrance Calhoun, whose involvement in a multi-state fraud scheme, is a
clear reminder that bad actors will be stopped, and we will ensure integrity will prevail.”
The case was jointly investigated by agents from the Department of Labor Office of the
Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations Division, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector
General, and the State of Michigan -Unemployment Insurance Agency. The case is being
prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carl D. Gilmer-Hill and Jessica A.
Nathan.

Updated April 23, 2025

Topic
CORONAVIRUS
Component
USAO - Michigan, Eastern


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