U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Charlotte Man Involved in Two Separate Identity Theft Schemes Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges (USAO WD-NC 10/02/2020) (2020-10-16)
Summary
An October 2, 2020 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina announcing that Jamel Johnson, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler to federal charges in two separate identity theft schemes. Johnson was indicted on June 19, 2020 over a bank loan scheme in which, according to court documents, co-conspirators used stolen identities to attempt to obtain more than $1,000,000 in fraudulent bank loans and goods. New wire fraud charges filed on September 25, 2020 concern COVID-19 unemployment insurance claims that, according to court records, Johnson filed in Wisconsin and Arizona between May 21, 2020 and July 22, 2020 using the identities of approximately 70 victims. Co-defendant Justin Parks has also pleaded guilty.
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“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Charlotte Man Involved in Two Separate Identity Theft Schemes Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges (USAO WD-NC 10/02/2020) (2020-10-16).”
Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-charlotte-man-involved-in-two-separate-ide-703de9a682/
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United States Attorney Andrew Murray
Western District of North Carolina
________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Lia Bantavani
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020 704-338-3140
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ncw lia.bantavani@usdoj.gov
CHARLOTTE MAN INVOLVED IN TWO SEPARATE IDENTITY THEFT SCHEMES
PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHARGES
In One Scheme, the Defendant Received more than $189,900 in COVID-19 Unemployment
Insurance Benefits, Using Stolen Identities to File Fraudulent Claims
in Wisconsin & Arizona
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jamel Johnson, 30, of Charlotte, appeared before U.S. Magistrate
Judge David Keesler today, and pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in two separate
schemes involving identity theft, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western
District of North Carolina.
Johnson was initially indicted on June 19, 2020, on bank and wire fraud conspiracy and
aggravated identity theft charges, for his involvement in a scheme to obtain fraudulent bank
loans using stolen personal information of identity theft victims. On September 25, 2020, new
federal wire fraud charges were filed against Johnson, for using stolen identities to file for, and
receive, COVID-19 Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.
According filed court documents and statements made at Johnson’s plea hearing today,
from August 2019 to June 2020, Johnson and his co-conspirators engaged in a bank loan scheme
involving the use of stolen personal identifying information of identity theft victims. Court
documents show that, after acquiring the victims’ stolen identities on the internet and elsewhere,
the co-conspirators used them to attempt to obtain more than $1,000,000 in fraudulent bank loans
and goods.
According to court records, over the course of the investigation into the bank loan
scheme, law enforcement discovered that Johnson was also executing a separate scheme
involving COVID-19 UI benefits. In this scheme, court records show that, from May 21, 2020
through July 22, 2020, Johnson defrauded the U.S. Department of Labor, the State of Wisconsin,
and the State of Arizona, by submitting fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance benefits
in the names of identity theft victims. During the relevant time-period, Johnson fraudulently
obtained more than $189,912 in fraudulent UI benefits using the compromised identities of
approximately 70 victims. According to court records, Johnson directed that payments of the
fraudulent UI benefits be made to Green Dot cards, or to bank accounts under Johnson’s control.
Johnson is currently on release pending sentencing. The charge of conspiracy to commit
bank and wire fraud carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years and a $1 million fine. The
aggravated identity theft charge carries a minimum prison term of two years, consecutive to any
other prison term imposed, and a $250,000 fine. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum prison
sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine.
One of Johnson’s co-defendants in the bank loan scheme, Justin Parks, has also pleaded
guilty to bank and wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. A sentencing date for
Johnson and Parks has not been set. The charges against David Clarke and Mikael Roberts for
their alleged involvement in the loan scheme are still pending, and the defendants are presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended the U.S. Postal
Inspection Service for their investigative efforts, and thanked the Atlanta Regional Office of the
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg
Police Department for their invaluable assistance.
The prosecution for the government is handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jenny
G. Sugar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
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