Three Sentenced for Roles in Covid-19 Unemployment Scheme That Stole $669,124 from Virginia Taxpayers

Summary

A U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia press release of March 6, 2026 on the sentencing of three people who stole $669,124 in pandemic unemployment benefits. Jonathan Ricketts, 45, received 84 months; while he was incarcerated at Duffield Regional Jail he mailed inmates' personal information and signatures to his wife Farren Ricketts, who used them to file claims. Their company, Ricketts Advisory LLC, employed up to seven people for the sole purpose of filing fraudulent claims and filed at least 101 false claims. Employees Christopher Woliver and Megan Caudill received 24 months and 30 days respectively, with restitution of $29,076 and $166,204. The release says Virginia paid $1.1 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.

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PRESS RELEASE

Three Sentenced for Roles in Covid-19
Unemployment Scheme That Stole
$669,124 from Virginia Taxpayers
Friday, March 6, 2026

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia

ABINGDON, Va. – Three co-conspirators who stole more than $650,000 from Virginia
taxpayers by using the personally identifying information (PII) of inmates at Duffield
Regional Jail, and others who were ineligible to receive pandemic unemployment
benefits, to file false unemployment benefits claims, were sentenced today in U.S.
District Court in Abingdon.

Jonathan Ricketts, 45, of Duffield, Va., was sentenced today to 84 months in federal
prison. He previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United
States and one count of making false statements in connection with emergency
benefits. He was also ordered to pay $669,124 in restitution jointly and severally with
Farren Ricketts.

Christopher Woliver, 37, of Big Stone Gap, Va., was sentenced today to 24 months in
federal prison. He previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the
United States and one count of making false statements in connection with emergency
benefits. He was also ordered to pay $29,076 in restitution jointly and severally with
Farren Ricketts and Jonathan Ricketts.

Megan Caudill, 39, of Swords Creek, Va., was sentenced today to 30 days in prison and
three years of supervised release, with 12 months being on home confinement. She
previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one
count of making false statements in connection with emergency benefits. In addition,
she was ordered to pay $166,204 in restitution jointly and severally with Farren Ricketts
and Jonathan Ricketts.

“I applaud our partners at the IRS, Department of Labor, and the Russell County Sheriff’s
Office for their outstanding work on this case. Fraudsters who line their pockets at the
expense of taxpayers will face accountability for their crimes,” Acting United States
Attorney Robert N. Tracci said today.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program (PUA)
was enacted, expanding eligibility for unemployment benefits to individuals who were
not eligible for regular unemployment compensation or had exhausted their
unemployment insurance benefits. To receive PUA, claimants had to certify they were
unemployed or had their hours reduced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and file
weekly claims. Unfortunately, Virginia paid $1.1 billion in fraudulent unemployment
claims between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021 in relation to this program.

These conspirators charged in the Western District of Virginia played a central role in
contributing to this massive fraud, stealing a total of $669,124 in pandemic
unemployment benefits to which they were not entitled.

Specifically, Jonathan Ricketts and his wife Farren Ricketts owned Ricketts Advisory LLC,
a company that employed, at times, seven individuals for the sole purpose of filing
fraudulent unemployment benefits claims during the Covid pandemic.

While he was incarcerated at Duffield Regional Jail, Jonathan Ricketts collected and sent
Duffield inmates’ PII, as well as their signatures, by mail, to Farren Ricketts. She then
used that PII to file fraudulent unemployment claims. In total, Ricketts Advisory was
responsible for the filing of at least 101 false claims.

Caudill was an employee of Ricketts Advisory. In addition to the $21,368 in direct,
fraudulent unemployment benefits she received, Caudill also assisted in eleven other
individuals filing for, and receiving, fraudulent unemployment benefits, resulting in
$166,204 in unwarranted payments.

Woliver, also an employee of Ricketts Advisory, received approximately $3,270 in
pandemic unemployment benefits to which he was not entitled. In addition, recruited
others to file their claims through the business, and, as a result, an additional $25,806
fraudulent claims were received by others.

Agencies that assisted with this investigation included The Department of Labor - Office
of the Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI),
the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, and the Norton Police Department in Wise County.

Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia,
Kareem Carter, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal
Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office, and Anthony P. D’Esposito,
Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL OIG) made the announcement.

Assistant United States Attorney Danielle Stone prosecuted the case.

As part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Task Force, this
investigation was conducted by the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery.
The PRAC’s 20 member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and
agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than
$5 trillion in COVID-19 spending.

Updated March 6, 2026

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