Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, "AG Shapiro Charges Five Out-of-State Residents for Defrauding PA's Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program" (Feb. ...

Summary

A press release dated Tuesday, February 15, 2022, datelined Harrisburg, in which the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General announces that its financial crimes agents arrested five individuals for allegedly conspiring to provide false information to obtain Pandemic Unemployment Assistance under the CARES Act. It names Regine Ford, John Rivers III, Jose Thomas, Shammiere Lackey and Adrian Hambrick as named in criminal complaints filed in the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas. The release says the alleged co-conspirators are believed to have filed 145 false applications resulting in $925,273 in allegedly false unemployment claims, $455,513 of which was paid out. It states that all charges are accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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     AG Shapiro Charges Five Out-of-State Residents for
     Defrauding PA’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
                         Program
  Defendants Alleged to Have Submitted More Than $925K in False Pandemic Unemployment
                                         Claims

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Tuesday, February 15, 2022

HARRISBURG – Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced today that financial crimes agents
from the Office of Attorney General, in coordination with federal and local law enforcement,
arrested five individuals for allegedly conspiring to provide false information in an attempt to
illegally obtain Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) through the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act. Three targets are expected to be charged
within the next week and one remains at large.

“This program was designed to help people get back on their feet after the severe disruption
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said AG Josh Shapiro. “These defendants instead targeted
Pennsylvania’s program to rip off our residents and took advantage of the public health
emergency to cash in. We will continue to work with our partners to hold these scammers
accountable to the law, and ensure that our unemployment benefits are going to those that need
them.”

The investigation showed nine individuals conspired to illegally obtain PUA funds in excess of
$925,000. The following individuals were named in criminal complaints filed in the
Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas and arrested today by the Pennsylvania Office of
Attorney General:

Regine Ford, 26, of Newark, DE
John Rivers III, 35, of Loganville, GA
Jose Thomas, 43, of Sicklerville, NJ
Shammiere Lackey, 28, of Pennsville, NJ
Adrian Hambrick, 38, of Salem, NJ

“When fraud schemes affect public funds – as this one allegedly did – the FBI will work in any
capacity, across any platform or jurisdiction, when asked to support the effort to investigate,
capture, and prosecute scammers,” said Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire. “The
message should be clear – if you defraud the government and, by extension, your fellow citizens
for your own personal gain, don’t be surprised when the FBI is knocking on your door.”
Through the course of the investigation, agents learned that seven of the defendants allegedly
claimed to have worked for the same trucking company between January 2020 and March 2020,
and claimed that their employment ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon further
investigation, prosecutors allege that these individuals did not work for this company nor had
any record of being employed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

“An important part of the mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations
involving unemployment insurance fraud. We will continue to work with our law enforcement
partners to investigate these types of allegations,” said Jonathan Mellone, Special
Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

“These arrests reflect our continued resolve to investigate and prosecute those who try to exploit
a national emergency to steal taxpayer-funded resources by using the global pandemic as an
opportunity to steal from hard working citizens,” said Michael Montanez, Special Agent in
Charge IRS Criminal Investigation Newark Field Office. “IRS Special Agents are committed to
working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively uncover and disrupt criminals who
conspire to abuse these programs for personal gain."

The alleged co-conspirators are believed to have filed 145 false applications, many of which
using a Chester address, that resulted in $925,273 in allegedly false unemployment claims,
$455,513 of which was paid out to these defendants.

To date, the Office of Attorney General has charged 44 individuals, including 24 inmates and
their accomplices, across the Commonwealth for submitting fraudulent PUA applications
amounting to more than $4 million in fraudulent PUA funds.

Individuals who apply for emergency unemployment benefits when they are employed or
incarcerated are breaking federal and state law. Individuals found to be involved with organized
efforts to obtain emergency unemployment benefits illegally can face significant prison time and
financial penalties.

This case is being prosecuted by Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Suzanne Edwards. The
FBI, IRS, the U.S Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, and the Pennsylvania
Department of Labor & Industry provided significant assistance in this investigation. All charges
discussed are accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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