Sealed Complaint, United States of America v. Elvin German, Southern District of New York
Summary
A sealed complaint, sworn on the 17th day of March, 2021 by Timothy Schmidt, a Special Agent with DOL-OIG, charging Elvin German with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in the Southern District of New York. It alleges that from about May 2020 to March 2021 German filed online unemployment applications with the NY DOL in the names and social security numbers of more than 250 other people. About 255 Pre-paid Cards went to about 130 addresses and drew approximately $1,483,622 in COVID-19 Benefits. One IP Address, subscribed to a Bronx address, logged into the Website more than 3,300 times. Every application named the applicant's first pet as Benji, and the March 16, 2021 search found a dog with Benji written on its collar.
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- Captured
- 2026-09-25
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- www-justice-gov
Archived web capture. Preserved source — captured from www-justice-gov; archived 2026-09-25.
Full text
Approved:
DANIELLE M. KUDLA
Assistant United States Attorney
Before: THE HONORABLE SARAH L. CAVE
United States Magistrate Judge
Southern District of New York
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : SEALED COMPLAINT
:
- v. - : Violations of 18 U.S.C.
: §§ 1349, 1028A(a)(1),
ELVIN GERMAN, : 1028A(b), and 2
:
: COUNTY OF OFFENSE:
Defendant. : BRONX
:
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, ss.:
TIMOTHY SCHMIDT, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he
is a Special Agent with the United States Department of Labor,
Office of Inspector General (“DOL-OIG”), and charges as follows:
COUNT ONE
(Wire Fraud)
1. From at least in or about May 2020, up to and
including at least in or about March 2021, in the Southern District
of New York and elsewhere, ELVIN GERMAN, the defendant, willfully
and knowingly, having devised and intending to devise a scheme and
artifice to defraud, and for obtaining money and property by means
of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises,
did transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of wire, radio,
and television communication in interstate and foreign commerce,
writings, signs signals, pictures, and sounds, for the purpose of
executing such scheme and artifice, to wit, GERMAN fraudulently
submitted online applications for unemployment benefits using
personal identifying information belonging to other people.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 2.)
COUNT TWO
(Aggravated Identity Theft)
2. From at least in or about May 2020, up to and
including at least in or about March 2021, in the Southern District
of New York and elsewhere, ELVIN GERMAN, the defendant, knowingly
did transfer, possess, and use, without lawful authority, a means
of identification of another person, during and in relation to a
felony violation enumerated in Title 18, United States Code,
Section 1028A(c), to wit, GERMAN used the names and social security
numbers of other persons during and in relation to the wire fraud
violation charged in Count One of this Complaint.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1028A(a)(1), 1028A(b),
and 2.)
The bases for my knowledge and for the foregoing charges,
are, in part, as follows:
3. I am a Special Agent with the DOL-OIG. I have been
personally involved in the investigation of this matter. This
affidavit is based on, among other things, my conversations with
employees of States and financial institutions, my conversations
with other law enforcement officers, my examination of reports and
records prepared by law enforcement officers, my review of
financial records, and my involvement in this investigation.
Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose
of establishing probable cause, it does not include all of the
facts that I have learned during the course of my investigation.
Where the contents of documents and the actions, statements, and
conversations of others are reported herein, they are reported in
substance and in part, except where otherwise indicated.
4. Based on my participation in this investigation, I
have learned that ELVIN GERMAN, the defendant, has engaged in a
scheme to obtain over $1.4 million in unemployment benefits by
2
fraudulently filing for unemployment benefits using the names and
social security numbers of more than 250 other people.
The COVID-19 Benefits Fraud Scheme
5. Since in or about May 2020, the DOL-OIG and the
United States Secret Service (“USSS”) have been investigating
fraud schemes targeting unemployment insurance benefits during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
6. Based on my participation in this investigation and
my conversations with other law enforcement agents, including
investigators from the NY DOL, I have learned the following, in
substance and in part:
a. Unemployment Insurance (“UI”) is a state-federal
program that provides monetary benefits to eligible lawful
workers. In the State of New York, the NY DOL administers the UI
program.
b. As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, UI eligibility was expanded to
provide assistance as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In total, more than $300 billion in additional federal funds for
UI benefits have been appropriated since in or about March 2020
(“COVID-19 Benefits”).
7. The NY DOL offers an online website (“the Website”)
through which applicants can apply for COVID-19 Benefits, among
other things, and verify unemployment status as outlined below.
In order to apply for COVID-19 Benefits through the Website, an
applicant must complete a form that includes, among other things,
the applicant’s name, date of birth, social security number, and
address. In addition, the applicant can direct that the NY DOL
send any approved funds to a specific bank account or to a debit
card. The debit cards are issued from KeyBank.
8. Based on my participation in this investigation,
including my conversations with NY DOL employees, and my review of
reports and records prepared by the NY DOL, I have learned the
following, in substance and in part:
a. An applicant filing for COVID-19 Benefits through
the Website is required to submit an online application. If the
application is approved, the applicant is required to log on to
the Website on a weekly basis thereafter to verify his/her
3
continued unemployment status and efforts to seek employment (the
“Verification Process”).
Fraudulent COVID-19 Applications
9. Based on my participation in this investigation,
including my conversations with NY DOL employees, and my review of
reports and records prepared by the NY DOL, I have learned the
following, in substance and in part:
a. Between in or about May 2020 and in or about
February 2021, the NY DOL received certain COVID-19 Benefits
applications on behalf of approximately 255 individuals
(collectively the “Applications” and individually the
“Application”).
i. Each Application included unique personal
identifying information (“PII”) belonging to the Applicant,
including, among other things, the Applicant’s name, social
security number, address, and phone number.
ii. Once the NY DOL approved an Application, a
pre-paid debit card was mailed to the home address provided on the
Application (the “Pre-paid Card”). Each Pre-Paid Card contained
the full amount of benefits requested by an Application from the
date the applicant purported to be unemployed to the date of the
Pre-paid Card mailing. This amount was often in excess of
$17,000.
b. Between in or about May 2020 and in or about
February 2021, the NY DOL mailed approximately 255 Pre-paid Cards
to approximately 130 addresses in response to the Applications.
These Pre-paid Cards were used by unidentified individuals to
receive approximately $1,483,622 in COVID-19 Benefits.
10. Based on my participation in this investigation,
including my conversations with NY DOL employees, and my review of
NY DOL database records, I have learned the following, in substance
and in part
a. As part of the online COVID-19 Benefits application
process, an applicant is required by the NY DOL to select certain
security questions and enter answers to those questions. Each of
the Applications included the same four security questions and
identical responses (the “Security Question Responses”) to those
questions. One of the four Security Questions chosen for every
4
one of the Applications asked for the name of the applicant’s first
pet. On each of the Applications the answer provided was “Benji.”
b. Metadata associated with the Applications and the
Verification Process associated with these Applications, which was
recorded by the Website, indicated that the Applications were
either submitted online to the Website or verified on the Website
as part of the Verification Process from the same static internet
protocol (“IP”) address (the “IP Address”). 1
c. Between May 2020 and February 2021, the IP Address
was used to log into the Website to submit an Application or to
complete the Verification Process on more than 3,300 separate
occasions—often within minutes of a prior login associated with a
different social security number.
The IP Address and the Identification of ELVIN GERMAN
11. Based on my review of internet service provider
(“ISP”) records, I have learned that from at least May 2020 to
October 2020, the IP Address was subscribed to a particular address
in the Bronx, New York ( “Address-1”). 2
12. Based on my participation in this investigation,
including my conversations with NY DOL employees, and my review of
reports and records prepared by the NY DOL, I have learned the
following, in substance and in part:
a. On or about May 16, 2020, an Application was
submitted in the name of “Elvin German,” which listed Address-1 as
1 Based on my training and experience, I know that an IP address
is a unique string of characters that identifies each computer
using the IP address to communicate over a network. It is possible
for two or more electronic devices to share an IP address if these
devices access the internet from a local network (“LAN”)—
essentially, while users may be using different computers or
devices in one location, if these devices are all using the same
internet connection, they will share an IP address. Based on the
evidence observed during the execution of a judicially-authorized
premises search warrant on or about March 16, 2021, and outlined
further below, I believe that the IP Address was used by electronic
devices operated by GERMAN to submit and/or verify the
Applications.
2 A subpoena is currently pending for the IP Address subscriber
information between November 2020 and the present.
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the applicant’s home address. Based on the name and Address-1, I
believe the “Elvin German” listed in the May 16, 2020 Application
is the same ELVIN GERMAN arrested at Address-1 on or about March
16, 2021.
b. GERMAN’s Application was the first of the 255
Applications submitted to the NY DOL that was linked to the IP
Address through either the Application or the Verification
Process.
c. Including GERMAN’s Application, 11 of the 255
Applications were submitted using the surname “German.”
13. Based on my participation on or about March 16,
2021, in a judicially-authorized search of Address-1, including
electronically stored information (“ESI”) contained therein, my
conversations with other law enforcement officers, my
conversations with NY DOL employees, and my review of documents
and physical evidence seized at Address-1, I have learned the
following, in substance and in part:
a. Law enforcement agents recovered a laptop inside a
Louis Vuitton backpack (“Laptop-1”) on the floor of GERMAN’s
bedroom, which he shares with his girlfriend (“Bedroom-1”). 3
Laptop-1 was in sleep mode. When law enforcement opened Laptop-
1, the Website was visible along with what appears is a notepad
file with the names and PII of approximately 4 individuals. All
four individuals are names of Applicants included among the 255
Applications submitted and/or verified with the IP Address.
b. On a dresser in Bedroom-1 (“Dresser-1”), which
contained men’s clothing, law enforcement recovered a Louis
Vuitton fanny pack and a Louis Vuitton wallet placed on top of
Dresser-1. Inside the wallet, law enforcement found an
identification document for GERMAN and various credit cards in
GERMAN’s name. Additionally, law enforcement found a KeyBank debit
card issued in a particular name (“KeyBank Card-1”).
i. KeyBank Card-1 matches a COVID-19 Benefits
application submitted to the NY DOL in or about December 2020 in
3 GERMAN’s girlfriend identified Bedroom-1 as being shared by both
her and GERMAN. Law enforcement observed the presence of men’s
clothing in Bedroom-1.
6
a name that does not match any resident in Address-1. 4 The NY DOL
approved the KeyBank Card-1 application and released approximately
$28,000 in COVID-19 Benefits to KeyBank Card-1.
ii. The KeyBank Card-1 application was submitted
and subsequently verified using AT&T and T-Mobile cellular service
providers. Based on the seizure of GERMAN’s cellphone at or around
the time of arrest, I have learned that GERMAN’s cellphone service
provider is T-Mobile.
c. Inside Dresser-1, law enforcement recovered
approximately $7,000 in cash and more than 40 “GoBank” cards.
Based on my training and experience, I know that a “GoBank” card
typically has a routing number and account number that enables the
owner of the card to transfer funds from online bank accounts to
the card and to use the card a credit/debit card.
d. On the floor of Bedroom-1, law enforcement also
recovered stacks of paper, which included photocopies of various
individuals’ driver’s licenses and handwritten notes regarding
certain PII, such as social security numbers, addresses, and phone
numbers.
e. Inside Address-1, law enforcement observed a dog,
whose name, Benji, was written on its collar. As described above,
each of the Applications provided the name “Benji” in response to
a security question asking for the applicant’s first pet’s name.
14. Based on the foregoing, including (i) ELVIN
GERMAN’s presence at Address-1 on or about March 16, 2021, which
is the subscriber address assigned to the IP Address that is linked
to the Applications; (ii) the GERMAN Application listing Address-
1 as the applicant’s residence; (iii) the recovery of Laptop-1
inside a Louis Vuitton backpack consistent with a Louis Vuitton
wallet containing GERMAN’s identification card, and Laptop-1’s
screen contents; (iv) the presence of KeyBank Card-1 inside the
wallet; (v) the presence of numerous “GoBank” cards, which can be
used to transfer online funds; and (vi) the use of the security
answer Benji, I respectfully submit there is probable cause to
believe that GERMAN fraudulently submitted and/or verified the
Applications.
4 KeyBank Card-1 does not correspond to one of the Application
identities.
7
WHEREFORE, deponent respectfully requests that a warrant
be issued for the arrest of ELVIN GERMAN, the defendant, and that
he be arrested, and imprisoned or bailed, as the case may be.
_/s Timothy Schmidt (By Court
with Authorization)__
TIMOTHY SCHMIDT
Special Agent, DOL-OIG
Sworn to through the transmission of this Affidavit
by reliable electronic means, pursuant to Federal Rules
of Criminal Procedure 41(d)(3) and 4.1, this
17th day of March, 2021
____________________________________
THE HONORABLE SARAH L. CAVE
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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