Indictment — United States v. Olivia Spellman, Western District of Wisconsin (Document 2)

Summary

An indictment against Olivia Spellman, filed November 9, 2022 as Document 2 in Case 3:22-cr-00131-wmc in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. Counts 1-7 charge mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341 and 18 U.S.C. § 2. The grand jury alleges that from about August 2020 to about April 2021 Spellman collected CARES Act unemployment insurance payments in the names of other individuals, as well as her own, from state unemployment agencies, and received 109 letters from different SWAs in the names of 43 different individuals in October 2020 alone. It alleges an attempted fraud loss of $1,026,508 and an actual fraud loss of $506,097. A forfeiture allegation seeks a sum of money equal to $506,097.

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Cite this document

“Indictment — United States v. Olivia Spellman, Western District of Wisconsin (Document 2).” Original at ecf.wiwd.uscourts.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/indictment-usa-v-spellman-dkt-2-w-d-wis-e8754ba2e0/, SHA-256 55e78c66d8e281b10e17a1e7e676cbf78556d95ab57759b6e2df1f937266a703.

Full text

Case: 3:22-cr-00131-wmc Document #: 2 Filed: 11/09/22 Page 1 of 9

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA tGZZ .. -.. . t :; ;
INDICTMENT
V.
Case No. 22 CR :. ·1 3 1
OLIVIA SPELLMAN, 18 u.s.c. § 1341
18 u.s.c. § 2
18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(l)(C)
Defendant. 18 u.s.c. § 982
28 U.S.C. § 2461(c)

THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:

COUNTS 1-7

1. At times material to this indictment:

a. In 1935, the federal Social Security Act established a dual program

of federal and state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. Under the Social Security

Act, each state administered its own UI program through their State Workforce

Agencies (SWA), within the guidelines set forth by federal law. These state UI benefits

were financed in part by state payroll taxes, remitted by taxable employers, which were

held in trust by the United States Treasury's Federal Unemployment Trust Fund.

During periods of high unemployment, the federal government has also funded state

UI benefits directly.

b. The U.S. Department of Labor promulgated the laws and

regulations governing federal administrative guidelines over the UI programs
Case: 3:22-cr-00131-wmc Document #: 2 Filed: 11/09/22 Page 2 of 9

nationwide, and the U.S. DOL-OIG investigated fraud, waste and abuse in these

programs.

c. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act became law on March

18, 2020 and provided additional flexibility for SWAs and additional administrative

funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and

Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES

Act expanded the states' abilities to provide UI for many workers impacted by the

COVID-19 pandemic, including workers who were not ordinarily eligible for UI

benefits.

d. One such program established to accomplish that end was the

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) Program. The FPUC Program

allowed eligible individuals who were collecting certain UI benefits, including regular

UI compensation, to receive an additional $600 in federal benefits per week for weeks of

unemployment ending on or before July 31, 2020.

e. The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program

allowed those who had exhausted benefits under regular UI compensation or other

programs to receive up to 13 weeks of additional federally funded benefits.

f. An additional program, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

(PUA) Program allowed individuals who did not qualify for regular UI compensation

and were unable to continue working as a result of COVID-19 to file for UI benefits.

Such individuals included self-employed workers, independent contractors, and gig

workers. PUA provided up to 39 weeks of benefits to qualifying individuals who were

2
Case: 3:22-cr-00131-wmc Document #: 2 Filed: 11/09/22 Page 3 of 9

otherwise able to work and available for work within the meaning of applicable state

law, except that they were unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable

to work due to COVID-19 related reasons, as defined in the CARES Act. UI benefit

payments under PUA were retroactive, for weeks of unemployment, partial

employment, or inability to work due to COVID-19 reasons starting on or after January

27, 2020. Under Department of Labor guidance, claimants filed their UI claim in the

state where they worked or, if they worked in more than one state, to contact the SWA

of the state where they resided for additional information on how to file their claim.

g. An employee who had been terminated from employment without

fault could file a claim with their respective SWA. Claimants typically submitted their

UI claims electronically via electronic transmission using the internet via a computer or

a cell phone. The claimant had to provide, among other information, his/her name,

Social Security Number (SSN), and date of birth (DOB). Upon approval of the claim, the

SWA issued a State-issued debit card (or in some instances, a paper check) to the

claimant. Alternatively, the claimant could opt to have benefits directly deposited into a

bank account of his/her choosing. A UI debit card was typically loaded with benefits

after it had been activated, and money could be withdrawn from that card at an ATM.

h. In order to continue receiving UI benefits, a claimant had to contact

the SWA to continue certifying their unemployed status on an ongoing basis, typically

every week or two. When the claimant made the verification, the claimant provided

his/her SSN and answered questions such as whether during the certification period

the claimant worked, was able and available to work, and had actively sought work.

3
Case: 3:22-cr-00131-wmc Document #: 2 Filed: 11/09/22 Page 4 of 9

After the claimant completed this process, the debit card or claimant's bank account

was refilled with UI benefits.

1. Each SWA's UI benefits debit card administration varied, but

typically involved cards being mailed through the United States Postal Service. If a

claimant reported a debit card lost or stolen, a new card could be mailed via the Postal

Service or a private parcel carrier. In addition to financial instruments being mailed,

SWA's often mailed benefits statements, finding letters, determinations, or other

procedural documentation as a result of UI benefits claims being filed.

j. The following SWAs administered UI benefits for their respective

states:

(1) Alabama Department of Labor-Unemployment

Compensation Division (AL DOL) was the SWA for the State of Alabama;

(2) California Employment Development Department (CA EDD)

was the SWA for the State of California;

(3) Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CO DLE)

was the SWA for the State of Colorado;

(4) Illinois Department of Employment Security (IL DES) was the

SWA for the State of Illinois;

(5) Indiana Department of Workforce Development (IN DWD)

was the SWA for the State of Indiana;

(6) Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance

(MA DUA) was the SWA for the State of Massachusetts;

4
Case: 3:22-cr-00131-wmc Document #: 2 Filed: 11/09/22 Page 5 of 9

(7) Nevada Deparhnent of Training and Rehabilitation (NV

DETR) was the SWA for the State of Nevada;

(8) Ohio Deparhnent of Jobs and Family Services (OH JFS) was

the SWA for the State of Ohio;

(9) Texas Workforce Commission (TX WC) was the SWA for the

State of Texas; and;

(10) Wisconsin Deparhnent of Workforce Development (WI DWD)

was the SWA for the State of Wisconsin.

k. The defendant lived at 1520 Holiday Drive, Aparhnent 6, Janesville,

Wisconsin 53545.

2. During the period beginning in or about August 2020, and continuing to

in or about April 2021, in the Western District of Wisconsin and elsewhere, the

defendant,

OLIVIA SPELLMAN,

knowingly, and with the intent to defraud, devised and participated in a scheme to

defraud, and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent

pretenses, representations, promises, and by concealment of material facts.

3. It was part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant participated in a

scheme to collect CARES Act related unemployment insurance (UI) payments using the

names of other individuals, as well as her own name, from multiple state

unemployment agencies including SWAs in Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois,

Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.
5
Case: 3:22-cr-00131-wmc Document #: 2 Filed: 11/09/22 Page 6 of 9

4. It was also part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant received mail

from multiple state SWAs addressed to other individuals that contained letters

regarding UI benefits for these individuals. For example, in October 2020 alone, the

defendant received, by mail, 109 letters from different SWAs in the names of 43

different individuals. All of this mail was addressed to 1520 Holiday Drive, Apt. 6,

Janesville, Wisconsin 53545.

5. It was further part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant received,

by mail, UI debit cards in the names of other individuals from various SWAs. The

defendant took these cards and cashed them out. She retained a portion of these

proceeds and used the funds to purchase goods and services. She took the rest of the

funds and sent it to her coconspirator via CashApp, Green Dot and Bitcoin.

6. It was further part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant received,

via her two Green Dot accounts (xxx-6521 and xxx-6069), UI benefits from various

SWAs in the names of other individuals. The defendant used a portion of these funds

to purchase goods and services using her Green Dot cards.

7. It was further part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant attempted

to cause a fraud loss amount of $1,026,508, and an actual fraud loss amount of $506,097,

in requests and payments for unauthorized UI benefits from SWAs in Alabama,

California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, and

Wisconsin.

Mailings

6
Case: 3:22-cr-00131-wmc Document #: 2 Filed: 11/09/22 Page 7 of 9

8. On or about the dates listed below, in the Western District of Wisconsin

and elsewhere, the defendant,

OLIVIA SPELLMAN,

for the purpose of executing this scheme, knowingly used, and caused to be used, the

Postal Service, as follows :

COUNT DATE NATURE OF MAILING
1 8-13-20 The defendant caused to be delivered an item of mail according to
the directions thereon, a letter addressed to T.B. at 1520 Holiday
Drive, Apt. 6, Janesville, Wisconsin 53545, from the California
Employment Development Department regarding her notice of
pandemic unemployment assistance award of $6,513
2 12-21-20 The defendant caused to be delivered an item of mail according to
the directions thereon, a letter addressed to L.W. at 1520 Holiday
Drive, Apt. 6, Janesville, Wisconsin 53545, from US Bank
regarding a new US Bank VISA debit card for L.W.
3 12-21-20 The defendant caused to be delivered an item of mail according to
the directions thereon, a letter addressed to M.M. at 1520 Holiday
Drive, Apt. 6, Janesville, Wisconsin 53545, from US Bank regarding
a new US Bank VISA debit card for M.M.
4 12-21-20 The defendant caused to be delivered an item of mail according to
the directions thereon, a letter addressed to G.W. at 1520 Holiday
Drive, Apt. 6, Janesville, Wisconsin 53545, from US Bank regarding
a new US Bank VISA debit card for G.W.
5 12-30-20 The defendant caused to be delivered an item of mail according to
the directions thereon, a check for UI benefits to A.D. at 1520
Holiday Drive, Apt. 6, Janesville, Wisconsin 53545, for $480 from
the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services
6 1-4-21 The defendant caused to be delivered an item of mail according to
the directions thereon, a letter addressed to AD. at 1520 Holiday
Drive, Apt. 6, Janesville, Wisconsin 53545, from US Bank regarding
a new US Bank VISA debit card for A.D.
7 1-6-21 The defendant caused to be delivered an item of mail according to
the directions thereon, a letter addressed to C.P. at 1520 Holiday

7
Case: 3:22-cr-00131-wmc Document #: 2 Filed: 11/09/22 Page 8 of 9

Drive, Apt. 6, Janesville, Wisconsin 53545, from US Bank regarding
a new US Bank VISA debit card for C.P.

(All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341 and 2).

FORFEITURE ALLEGATION

1. Upon conviction of one or more of the offenses alleged in Counts 1-7 of

this indichnent, the defendant,

OLIVIA SPELLMAN,

shall forfeit to the United States, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 981(a)(l)(C), 982 and 28 U.S.C.

§ 2461(c), any property constituting or is involved in, or is derived from proceeds

traceable to the above-referenced offense, including but not limited to the following:

a. A sum of money equal to $506,097 in United States currency,

representing the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of mail fraud, as charged in

Counts 1-7 of the indictment.

2. If any of the above-described forfeitable property, as a result of any act or

omission of the defendant --

(a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence,

(b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party,

(d) has been substantially diminished in value, or

(e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be

subdivided without difficulty,

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Case: 3:22-cr-00131-wmc Document #: 2 Filed: 11/09/22 Page 9 of 9

the United States shall be entitled, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section

853(p), as incorporated by Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c), to forfeiture of

substitute property up to the value of the above forfeitable property.

(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 981(a)(l)(C), 982 and
Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c)).

A TRUE BILL

PRESIDING JUROR

Indictment returned: - - - - - - -

United States Attorney

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