Temple Hills Man Sentenced for Firearms and Drug Trafficking Crimes, and CARES Act Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland, dated January 23, 2026. U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Lawrence Nathanial Harris of Temple Hills, Maryland, to a 15-year prison sentence, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and also for possessing a machine gun, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense. The judge also ordered Harris to pay $952,225 of restitution. According to the plea agreement, from at least January 2021 until about September 2023, Harris and co-conspirators submitted false and fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to the Maryland Department of Labor, with losses exceeding $950,000.

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PRESS RELEASE


Temple Hills Man Sentenced for Firearms
and Drug Trafficking Crimes, and CARES
Act Unemployment Insurance Fraud
Friday, January 23, 2026

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

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced a Maryland
man to federal prison in connection with two cases — one involving drug-trafficking
and firearms crimes — and the other relating to identity-theft and wire-fraud charges.

Lawrence Nathanial Harris, 33, of Temple Hills Maryland, received a 15-year prison
sentence, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire
fraud and aggravated identity theft, and also for possessing a machine gun, possession
with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm in
furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense. Judge Boardman also ordered Harris to pay
$952,225 of restitution.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with
Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, National Capital Region, U.S. Department of
Labor – Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG); Special Agent in Charge Charles Doerrer,
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Special Agent in Charge
Jimmy Paul, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office; and Chief
George Nader, Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).

The fraud and identity theft charges are connected to Harris submitting fraudulent
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act unemployment insurance
(UI) claims. According to his plea agreement, beginning in at least January 2021, and
continuing until about September 2023, Harris and his co-conspirators engaged in a
scheme to defraud the United States, State of Maryland, multiple financial institutions,
and multiple individuals, including identity theft victims. The co-conspirators submitted
false and fraudulent UI benefits claims to the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL),
Maryland’s agency responsible for processing the claims. Harris participated in
submitting UI claims resulting in losses exceeding $950,000, and he used debit cards
issued in the names of aggravated identity theft victims to obtain UI fraud funds.

Additionally, Harris admitted that on November 16, 2022, while law enforcement
executed a residential search warrant at his home, he threw a firearm and a bag of
marijuana from his room. He possessed this firearm in furtherance of his drug-
trafficking activities. During a search of Harris’s attic, law enforcement recovered two
duffle bags filled with marijuana as well as four additional firearms. The firearms
included a pistol equipped with a switch that converted it into a machine gun. Harris
admitted to possessing the guns and drugs found in the attic.

The District of Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force 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 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 justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all
levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and
gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the
Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on
these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting
community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first
place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DOL-OIG, ATF, FBI, and PGPD for their work in the
investigation and the MD-DOL for its assistance. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Harry M. Gruber, Joseph L. Wenner, Christopher Sarma, and Special Assistant
U.S. Attorney Lanay Mitchell, who prosecuted this case. She also recognized the
Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force and Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber for her
valuable assistance.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and
resources available to report fraud, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-
md/community-outreach.

                                          ###

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

Updated January 23, 2026


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