Former Fort Worth Resident Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Unemployment Benefits Fraud

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas, dated February 23, 2026. Mark Alan Valles, previously of Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced on February 20, 2026, by Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor to 60 months in federal prison for conspiring to steal government funds, and was ordered to pay $407,724 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration. Valles pled guilty in October 2025. Court documents indicate that from approximately April 2020 through September 2021, Valles and others conspired to use stolen personal identifying information of at least 44 victims to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance funds administered by the Texas Workforce Commission, claiming a total of $899,719 in benefits.

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“Former Fort Worth Resident Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Unemployment Benefits Fraud.” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2026-02-27-former-fort-worth-resident-sentenced-to-five-years-in-feder-606032a26c/, SHA-256 a048bc7b00731adda36bf26c6b6009a7a63b9fa966d6fadffe26eab96be4daaa.

Full text

PRESS RELEASE

Former Fort Worth Resident Sentenced to
Five Years in Federal Prison for
Unemployment Benefits Fraud
Monday, February 23, 2026

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

A former Fort Worth, Texas resident was sentenced to five years in federal prison for his
role in fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits from the United States
Department of Labor, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of
Texas Ryan Raybould.

Mark Alan Valles, 51, previously of Fort Worth, Texas, pled guilty in October 2025 to the
federal offense of conspiring to steal government funds. On February 20, 2026, Chief
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor sentenced Valles to 60 months in federal prison. He
also ordered Valles to pay $407,724 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Labor and
the Small Business Administration.

“This defendant exploited government programs and stole funds intended to aid
Americans during a critical economic period in this country,” said U. S. Attorney Ryan
Raybould. “I applaud the diligent work of our law enforcement partners in uncovering
the fraud scheme and seeing justice done in this case.”

“Mark Valles conspired with others to defraud the Texas Workforce Commission, U.S.
Government, and the American taxpayers in an unemployment insurance fraud scheme
that enriched himself at a time when millions of Americans desperately needed the
money,” stated Anthony P. D’Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor,
Office of Inspector General. “My office is committed to protecting the integrity of the
unemployment insurance program by vigorously pursuing those who commit this type
of fraud. Fraud will not be tolerated. Accountability is not optional.”

Court documents indicate that from approximately April 2020 through September 2021,
Valles and others conspired to unlawfully use stolen personal identifying information of
at least 44 victims to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance funds administered
by the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”) and funded by the U.S. Department of
Labor (“DOL”). Valles and his coconspirators used the stolen information to fill out false
applications claiming a total of $899,719 in benefits to be loaded onto to debit
cards. They directed the associated debit cards to be mailed to a physical address
accessible by Valles or others, retrieved the debit cards from the particular address, and
withdrew cash from multiple ATM machines at banks in Fort Worth and the surrounding
areas. Valles caused a loss to the government of more than $407,000.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector
General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security–Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark McDonald
prosecuted the case.

Contact
USATXN.Media@usdoj.gov

Updated February 23, 2026

Topic
FINANCIAL FRAUD
Component
USAO - Texas, Northern

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Original: www.oig.dol.gov