U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Fraud, Identity Theft, Firearm and Drug Offenses (USAO D-MA 05/19/2022) (2022-05-25)

Summary

A May 19, 2022 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announcing that Jammy Alphonse pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, false representation of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft, possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Alphonse was charged by an Information on May 11, 2022. The release states that beginning in or around May 2020 Alphonse conspired to submit false Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims in other persons' names, and in February 2021 rented an East Boston apartment using another person's identity. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing, and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Mackenzie Duane is prosecuting.

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“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Fraud, Identity Theft, Firearm and Drug Offenses (USAO D-MA 05/19/2022) (2022-05-25).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-boston-man-pleads-guilty-to-pandemic-fraud-171a291bd4/, SHA-256 62042d4f04886feb46821cad15f16ba50287d0b530948a0e1a5fe821978ab01b.

Full text

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, May 19, 2022

Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Fraud, Identity
Theft, Firearm and Drug Offenses
BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today to fraud, identity theft, firearm and drug offenses.

Jammy Alphonse, 28, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, false representation of a Social
Security number, aggravated identity theft, possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession
with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin
scheduled sentencing for Sept. 15, 2022. Alphonse was charged by an Information on May 11, 2022.

Beginning in or around May 2020, Alphonse conspired to obtain Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance (PUA) benefits, which were made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act. Specifically, Alphonse conspired to submit false PUA claims in other persons’
names and using other persons’ personally identifiable information. Alphonse and his co-
conspirators created email accounts for the purpose of submitting fraudulent PUA claims from
Alphonse’s Everett residence and other locations. The fraudulently obtained funds were then
directed into accounts held in Alphonse’s name or in the name of a co-conspirator.

Additionally, in February 2021, Alphonse submitted an application to rent a property in East Boston
using the name, Social Security number and date of birth of another person. As a result, Alphonse
resided in that apartment from approximately February 2021 through Aug. 6, 2021, when he was
arrested on a federal firearms offense. A search of the apartment recovered a loaded Glock model
43X, 9-millimeter firearm, 47 rounds of ammunition, and approximately 75 grams or more of
fentanyl, among other things.

Alphonse was previously arrested and charged in August 2021 with being a felon in possession of a
firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon following a shooting in Cambridge, Mass., in July 2021.
Alphonse has remained in custody since that date.

The charge of wire fraud conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three
years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of false representation of a
Social Security number provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of
supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for
mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed,
up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of being a felon in
possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to
three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession with intent
to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and
up to 40 years in prison, up to four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million.
Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Mark Comorosky, Special Agent in Charge of the
U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of Department
of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; Colonel
Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Boston Police Acting
Commissioner Gregory Long; and Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow made the
announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Mackenzie Duane of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is
prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to
marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government
to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to
investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists
agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods,
augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and
techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information
and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s
response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by
calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-
5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-
disaster-complaint-form.
Topic(s): Coronavirus
Drug Trafficking
Financial Fraud Component(s):
Firearms Offenses USAO - Massachusetts
Identity Theft

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SHA-256: 62042d4f04886feb46821cad15f16ba50287d0b530948a0e1a5fe821978ab01b
Our copy: 2022-05-25-Boston-Man-Pleads-Guilty-to-Pandemic-Fraud-Identity-Theft-Firearm-and-Drug-Offenses-USAO-D-MA-05-19.pdf
Original: www.oig.dol.gov