U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Brooklyn Woman Sentenced To 33 Months In Prison For Multifaceted COVID-19 Fraud Scheme (USAO SD-NY 03/06/2024) (2024-03-13)

Summary

Press release 24-085 from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, dated March 6, 2024, announcing that Tatiana Daniel of Brooklyn was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to 33 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to the release, from June 2020 through September 2021 Daniel defrauded New York City's COVID-19 Hotel Room Isolation Program, conspired to obtain more than approximately $97,000 in UI benefits, sold fabricated COVID-19 test results, and submitted fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications. Daniel was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $109,655 and pay restitution of $401,206. The release lists earlier sentences for co-defendants Chanette Lewis, Tatiana Benjamin and Heaven West.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 CONTACT: U.S.
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Wednesday, March 6, 2024                                                          Nicholas Biase,
Lauren Scarff
http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys                                                   (212) 637 2600




  BROOKLYN WOMAN SENTENCED TO 33 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR
         MULTIFACETED COVID-19 FRAUD SCHEME
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced
that TATIANA DANIEL was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for conspiracy to commit
wire fraud. DANIEL participated in a scheme to commit COVID-19 pandemic fraud by
defrauding New York City’s COVID-19 Hotel Room Isolation Program; committing
unemployment insurance (“UI”) benefits fraud; selling fabricated COVID-19 test results, both
positive and negative; and obtaining fraudulent COVID-19 loans from both the U.S. Small
Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster
Loan (“EIDL”) program. DANIEL’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Lewis A.
Kaplan.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Tatiana Daniel repeatedly exploited resources offered to
help people and businesses in crisis. Her misconduct included selling fabricated COVID-19 test
results, which likely put members of the public at risk of contracting the deadly virus from one of
her customers. Daniel’s sentence reaffirms that those who illegally exploit disaster relief programs
and endanger the public should expect to go to prison.”

According to the allegations contained in the Superseding Information, court filings, and
statements made during court proceedings:

From June 2020 through September 2021, DANIEL conspired to commit COVID-19 pandemic
fraud through a variety of different means.

First, DANIEL defrauded the COVID-19 Hotel Room Isolation Program (the “Program”). In
response to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City created the Program. Funded by New York
City and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Program provided free hotel rooms for
qualifying individuals throughout New York City. The Program was ultimately open to healthcare
workers who needed to isolate because of exposure to COVID-19; patients who had tested positive
for COVID-19; individuals who believed, based on their symptoms, that they were infected with
COVID-19; and individuals who lived with someone who had COVID-19. As stated on the City’s
website describing the Program, such individuals “may qualify to self-isolate in a hotel, free of
charge, for up to 14 days if you do not have a safe place to self-isolate.” Those who wished to
book a hotel room through the Program could either call a phone number or use an online hotel
booking platform.

DANIEL defrauded the Program in at least two respects. First, she secured free Program hotel
rooms for herself by falsely claiming to be a healthcare worker — specifically, a respiratory
therapist. Second, she sold at least approximately 144 nights’ worth of fraudulently obtained hotel
rooms to customers who were ineligible for the Program. In connection with this scheme,
DANIEL used Facebook to advertise the sale of Program hotel rooms, to communicate directly
with potential purchasers of Program hotel rooms, and to communicate with a co-defendant who
worked at a call center that handled phone calls and certain reservations for the Program for several
months in 2020.

Second, DANIEL conspired to fraudulently obtain more than approximately $97,000 in expanded
COVID-19 UI benefits for both herself and others. She did so by making misrepresentations about
herself and by stealing the identities of more than 10 individuals and collecting unemployment
benefits issued for the benefit of those individuals, including an incarcerated individual. In
addition, DANIEL filed unsuccessful UI benefits applications in other states.

Third, DANIEL operated a fraudulent document mill, through which DANIEL sold, among other
things, “COVID Results,” “COVID-19 Hardship Letters,” “Doctors Notes,” and more (e.g., pay
stubs, W2s, work verification letters). As part of her fraudulent document mill, DANIEL sold
fabricated COVID-19 test results, both positive and negative. These fabricated test results
included the names of purported medical personnel.

Fourth, DANIEL submitted fraudulent applications for COVID-19 loans through both the PPP and
EIDL programs, resulting in the disbursement of thousands of dollars in pandemic loan funding to
DANIEL and a co-conspirator.

                                      *          *           *

In addition to her prison sentence, DANIEL, 29, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to three
years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $109,655 and to pay restitution of $401,206.

DANIEL’s three co-defendants were previously sentenced by Judge Kaplan, and their sentences
are as follows: Chanette Lewis was sentenced principally to three years in prison, three years of
supervised release, restitution of $360,330, and forfeiture of $289,536; Tatiana Benjamin was
sentenced principally to one year and one day in prison, three years of supervised release,
restitution of $294,624, and forfeiture of $51,088; and Heaven West was sentenced principally to
time served, three years of supervised release, restitution of $59,644, and forfeiture of $23,684.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding efforts of agents, investigators, and analysts from the New
York City Department of Investigation, the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of
Labor – Office of Inspector General (“DOL-OIG”), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Southern District of New York. Mr. Williams also thanked the New York/New Jersey High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Intelligence Analysts for their support and assistance in this
investigation. He also expressed gratitude to the New York City Police Department, the New York
State Department of Labor, and the DOL-OIG Atlanta Regional Office for their assistance.

This matter is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S.
Attorney Michael D. Neff is in charge of the prosecution.

24-085                                             ###


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