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Man Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Scheme

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, dated March 25, 2026. Ardavan Alamoutinia entered a guilty plea before United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, 10 counts of mail fraud, one count of theft of government money, and one count of aggravated identity theft. The release says Alamoutinia and co-defendant Aryanah Davison used stolen identities to file over 500 fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance applications in 27 different states, resulting in a loss to the government of at least $2,886,876. Sentencing is scheduled for July 9, and the release gives a maximum possible term of 232 years' imprisonment.

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“Man Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Scheme.” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2026-04-01-dauphin-county-man-pleads-guilty-to-pandemic-unemployment-a-e8efc493f3/, SHA-256 5f44b80e169fbcbb4cbc1188047487187ea11e0b2764fe299cd9d313d0c567b3.

Full text

PRESS RELEASE


Dauphin County Man Pleads Guilty to
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
Scheme
Wednesday, March 25, 2026

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

He and Co-Defendant Defrauded U.S. Government of at Least $2.5 Million

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Ardavan
Alamoutinia, 33, of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before
United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez on one count of conspiracy to commit wire
and mail fraud, 10 counts of mail fraud, one count of theft of government money, and
one count of aggravated identity theft, arising from a scheme to fraudulently obtain
emergency funds meant for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The defendant and co-defendant Aryanah Davison, 26, of Harrisburg, Pa., were charged
by indictment in May 2023, with Davison pleading guilty to her role in the scheme in
January of last year.

As detailed in court filings, Alamoutinia and Davison used stolen identities to file over
500 fraudulent applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (“PUA”). These 500-
plus fraudulent applications were filed using at least 375 identities of current or former
employees of Company 1, Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”) which a co-
conspirator had stolen and transferred to Davison.

After receiving the PII, Alamoutinia and Davison filed, or caused to be filed, the
fraudulent PUA applications in 27 different states, resulting in a loss to the government
of at least $2,886,876.

The two co-defendants converted at least $2,500,000 of the fraudulent proceeds in this
case, spending them, in part, on a luxury sports vehicle and hundreds of thousands of
dollars of cryptocurrency.
Alamoutinia is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9 and faces a maximum possible term
of 232 years’ imprisonment. Davison will be sentenced at a later date; she also faces a
maximum possible term of 232 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General,
Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, United States Postal
Inspection Service, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector
General, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and is being
prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney S. Chandler Harris.

Contact
USAPAE.PressBox@usdoj.gov
215-861-8300

Updated March 25, 2026


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