South Carolina Woman Sentenced to Prison for Multi-State Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia, dated March 18, 2026. Ricki Johnson was sentenced to 54 months in prison after pleading guilty to Mail Fraud, and U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen also ordered restitution and criminal forfeiture of $104,632 and three years of supervised release. As described in court documents and testimony, over a two-year period Johnson electronically submitted false unemployment insurance benefit applications to approximately 18 states. The release says Johnson and Cheryl Galloway were later named in a seven-count indictment in May 2025, and that Galloway is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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PRESS RELEASE


South Carolina woman sentenced to
prison for multi-state unemployment
insurance fraud
Wednesday, March 18, 2026

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

Family members also implicated in COVID-era scheme

AUGUSTA, Georgia: A South Carolina woman was sentenced to prison and ordered to
pay substantial restitution for her role in a multi-state scheme to fraudulently obtain
unemployment insurance benefits.

Ricki Johnson, 42, of Trenton, South Carolina, was sentenced to 54 months in prison
after pleading guilty to Mail Fraud, said Margaret E. “Meg” Heap, U.S. Attorney for the
Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen also ordered
Johnson to pay restitution and criminal forfeiture of $104,632 and to serve three years of
supervised release upon completion of her prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Relaxed rules during the pandemic era made it easier for individuals to access many
government-provided services, but unfortunately it opened the floodgates for
scammers who took advantage of the system to enrich themselves,” said U.S. Attorney
Heap. “This case, and many others like it, demonstrate that federal investigators and
prosecutors will identify these criminals and hold them accountable.”

In March 2020, Congress authorized additional funding and expanded eligibility for
state-administered unemployment insurance programs as part of the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In an effort to maintain the integrity of those
benefits, the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor (OIG-DOL)
investigates individuals attempting to fraudulently access unemployment insurance
funds.
As described in court documents and testimony, over a two-year period Johnson
electronically submitted false unemployment insurance benefit applications to
approximately 18 states. Seven of those states (Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia,
Rhode Island, Mississippi, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania) paid out approximately
$104,632 in benefits to her. Some of the benefits were in the form of a debit card sent
to Johnson through the U.S. Mail.

Johnson and her mother, Cheryl Galloway, 66, of Yulee, Florida, subsequently were
named in a seven-count indictment in the Southern District of Georgia in May 2025,
alleging their participation in a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits in
multiple states.

Galloway, who is charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud and three
counts of Mail Fraud, awaits further court proceedings. She is presumed innocent unless
and until proven guilty. Her son and Johnson’s brother, identified in court as the late
Nick Morrison, was listed as an unnamed co-conspirator in the indictment.

“Ricki Johnson and her co-conspirators stole from American taxpayers – filing fraudulent
unemployment claims across multiple states and abusing programs meant to help
workers in need,” said Anthony D’Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor,
Office of Inspector General. “At the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, we
are relentless in pursuing fraud. Working alongside our law enforcement partners, we
will continue protecting the integrity of the unemployment insurance system and
ensuring criminals who exploit it are held accountable.”

Anyone with information about attempted unemployment insurance benefits fraud can
contact OIG-DOL at www.oig.dol.gov/hotline.htm.

The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of
Labor and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C.
Jacobs III.

Contact
For any questions, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (912) 652-4422.

Updated March 18, 2026


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