Over Six Million Dollars in Taxpayer Funds Recovered

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, dated February 9, 2026. U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine announced that, through a court-ordered judgment in a civil asset forfeiture action, the government has secured approximately $6,550,729 in stolen taxpayer money. As set forth in the civil complaint, fraudsters used stolen personal information and fabricated employment information to obtain unemployment insurance payments through the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and investigators identified over 2,000 fraudulent accounts that contained over $6 million in payments. The release says the case was brought in cooperation with the national DOJ-led COVID Fraud Task Force, which has seized and forfeited over $1.4 billion in COVID fraud proceeds.

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PRESS RELEASE


Over Six Million Dollars in Taxpayer
Funds Recovered
Monday, February 9, 2026

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

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Timothy Courchaine, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, today
announced that, through a court-ordered judgment in a civil asset forfeiture action, the
government has secured approximately $6,550,729 in stolen taxpayer money.

Through diligent investigation and the effective use of civil forfeiture, federal agents and
prosecutors recovered the taxpayer funds stolen through pandemic-related schemes.

As set forth in the civil complaint, COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment insurance
funding was distributed through several federal programs, including the CARES Act, the
Continued Assistance Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This funding was
administered through state workforce agencies, including the Arizona Department of
Economic Security (ADES). Fraudsters, using stolen personal information of U.S. citizens
and fabricated employment information, applied for and obtained unemployment
insurance payments through ADES. The fraudsters routed the payments to bank
accounts they opened using the stolen personal information, then withdrew the funds
or transferred them to other accounts. Investigators identified over 2,000 fraudulent
accounts that contained over $6 million in payments obtained from ADES. Using civil
forfeiture authority, federal prosecutors and investigators were able to seize and recover
the funds.

The District of Arizona brought this civil forfeiture case in cooperation with the broader
national DOJ-led COVID Fraud Task Force–a multi-agency collaboration among
prosecutors and law enforcement from various agencies that has, to-date, charged
numerous individuals and entities who exploited COVID fraud relief programs and
seized and forfeited over $1.4 billion in COVID fraud proceeds.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General,
with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Secret Service. The
U.S. Marshals Service assisted in the seizure and forfeiture. The United States was
represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Bozdech and LaTanya Wateland.

CASE NUMBER:           CV-24-00331-PHX-SHD

RELEASE NUMBER:      2026-024_over $6million in US Currency

Contact
Public Affairs
Lennea Montandon
Telephone: (602) 514-7542
Lennea.Montandon@usdoj.gov

Updated February 9, 2026


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