U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Eight Individuals Indicted and Arrested for Unemployment Benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Fraud (USAO-D-PR 11/03/2021) (2021-11-04)

Summary

A November 2, 2021 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico reporting that a federal grand jury returned six indictments on October 27 and 28, 2021 charging eight people with defrauding the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources through false unemployment and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims, with a combined loss of $280,868. Four related indictments charge six people, including Millisen M. Martínez-Medina, said to have prepared fraudulent applications, with theft of government property and mail fraud over UI checks. José Calderón-Lantigua and Emilio E. Mendoza-Aquino are charged separately with wire fraud and money laundering over PUA claims filed in other states; Mendoza-Aquino also faces a count over a $98,100 SBA loan.

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                                     Department of Justice

                                       U.S. Attorney’s Office

                                       District of Puerto Rico

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 Tuesday, November 2, 2021



 Eight Individuals Indicted and Arrested for Unemployment
  Benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
                            Fraud
SAN JUAN, P.R. – On October 27 and 28, 2021, the Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico
returned six separate indictments charging eight (8) individuals with fraud against the
Unemployment Insurance and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, announced W.
Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. These cases were investigated by
various federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States
Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector
General (USDOL-OIG), and the Social Security Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), with the
assistance of local law enforcement officials from the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB), the Puerto
Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources, and the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury
(Hacienda).

According to the indictments, the defendants engaged in schemes to defraud the Puerto Rico
Department of Labor and Human Resources (Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos,
“DTRH”) by submitting fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits, including
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits. The false information submitted included false
social security numbers and false employment information. The loss associated with these cases
totals $280,868.

Under the PUA provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), a
person who is a business owner, self-employed worker, independent contractor, or gig worker
qualified for PUA benefits administered by the DTRH if he/she previously performed such work in
Puerto Rico and was unemployed, partially unemployed, unable to work, or unavailable to work due
to a COVID-19 related reason.

To obtain these federal benefits, individuals could apply online through the DTRH’s web site:
ww.trabajo.pr.gov. Claimants answered various questions to establish their eligibility. Furthermore,
claimants were required to provide personal identifying information, which included their name,
mailing address, gender, email, phone number, social security number, and date of birth (collectively
referred to as personal identification information). Moreover, claimants had to identify a qualifying
occupational status and COVID-19 related reason for being out of work. Claimants could also submit
several documents as evidence of their income.

If the DTRH approved the claimant’s application, the DTRH would send a check to the claimant via
United States Postal Service for qualified benefits which could contain regular Unemployment
Insurance (UI) benefits and federal funds in the form of Pandemic Emergency Unemployment
Compensation (PEUC), PUA, and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits.

Four indictments charge six individuals with theft of government property and mail fraud. The
defendants engaged in deceptive conduct designed to fraudulently obtain multiple unemployment
checks from the DTRH by using false social security numbers. The defendants received UI benefits
from the DTRH via mail in the form of checks that they were not qualified or authorized to receive.
The defendants negotiated the various check fraudulently obtained from the DTRH.

The defendants charged in four related indictments are: Millisen M. Martínez-Medina, who
prepared fraudulent applications; Stephanie Carrasquillo-Marquez, who fraudulently obtained
$23,304; Christian Colón-Rivera, a.k.a. “El Gordo”, who fraudulently obtained $26,634; Zyllynnette
Ojeda-Falcón, who fraudulently obtained $11,586; Abner Colón-Díaz, who fraudulently obtained
$23,172; and Yesenia Marquez-Rivera, who fraudulently obtained $23,172.

In another indictment, defendant José Calderón-Lantigua is charged with wire fraud and money
laundering. The defendant applied for PUA benefits in Massachusetts, Arizona and Michigan and
obtained electronic transfers in his bank accounts in the names of other individuals. Calderón-
Lantigua fraudulently obtained $43,970.

In a separate indictment defendant Emilio E. Mendoza-Aquino is charged with wire fraud and
money laundering. The defendant applied for PUA benefits in Massachusetts, Arizona and Illinois
and obtained electronic transfers in his bank accounts in the names of other individuals. Mendoza-
Aquino fraudulently obtained $30,092. In addition, Mendoza-Aquino is facing one count of wire
fraud for fraudulently obtaining a Small Business Administration loan for $98,100.

“These arrests reflect our continued resolve to investigate and prosecute those who try to exploit a
national emergency to steal taxpayer-funded resources by using the global pandemic as an
opportunity to steal from hardworking citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “We are proud to work
with our law enforcement partners to hold wrongdoers accountable and to safeguard taxpayer
funds.”

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Vanessa D. Bonano-Rodríguez from the Social Security
Administration and Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor Acevedo are in charge of the prosecution of these
cases. If convicted, the defendants are facing the following sentences: 20 years of imprisonment for
mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud; 10 years of imprisonment for theft of government
money; 5 years of imprisonment for misuse of Social Security number; 20 years for money
laundering; and a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release.

To report a COVID-19-related fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National Center for
Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web
Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

The indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed to
be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

                                               ###
Topic(s):
Coronavirus
Financial Fraud
Component(s):
USAO - Puerto Rico
                                                                               Updated November 2, 2021


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