U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Evelyn Blevins Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for COVID-19 Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme (USAO ED-TN 08/07/2024) (2024-08-19)

Summary

Press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, dated August 7, 2024, announcing that Evelyn Blevins of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, was sentenced by United States District Judge Curtis L. Collier to 51 months' imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release. Blevins pled guilty to Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft under Title 18, U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1028A, and was ordered to pay $109,683 in restitution to the Tennessee and California Departments of Labor and to forfeit $109,683 as part of a money judgment. The release states that from June 2020 through August 2021 Blevins used other people's personal information to make mass online applications for unemployment insurance in Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and California.

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PRESS RELEASE



Evelyn Blevins Sentenced to 51
Months in Prison for COVID-19
Unemployment Insurance Fraud
Scheme
Wednesday, August 7, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Tennessee

Chattanooga, Tenn. – On August 7, 2024, Evelyn Blevins, 48, of South Pittsburg,
Tennessee, was sentenced to 51 months’ imprisonment by the Honorable Curtis L.
Collier, United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Following her incarceration, she will be on 5 years
of supervised release.

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Blevins pled guilty to Wire Fraud and
Aggravated Identity Theft, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1028A, for her
involvement in a scheme to defraud COVID-19 unemployment programs in several
states. In addition, Blevins was ordered to pay $109,683 in restitution to the Tennessee
and California Departments of Labor, and to forfeit to the United States $109,683 as part
of a money judgment.

According to court documents, from June 2020 through August 2021, Blevins conspired
with others to devise a scheme in which she defrauded the United States government
and the governments of Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and California to obtain
money from the states’ COVID relief programs in the form of unemployment insurance
proceeds funded by the United States government. Specifically, Blevins acquired
personal information from others and used it to fraudulently make mass online
applications for money earmarked by the states to provide unemployment insurance
relief for those affected by the national pandemic. She falsely claimed in the
applications that the individuals whose personal information was reflected on the
applications worked in those states. The states then mailed debit cards to addresses in
the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Blevins would receive a percentage of the payout
of the fraudulent claim. The defendant was personally responsible for the fraudulent
distribution of nearly $110,000 of unemployment protection insurance funds. The
scheme itself involved the fraudulent distribution of over $550,000 in unemployment
protection insurance funds.

“The defendant selfishly sought to take advantage of federal and state efforts to provide
relief to those most harmed by the COVID pandemic,” said United States Attorney
Francis M. Hamilton, III. “We remain committed to partnering with all law enforcement
agencies to identify and prosecute those who steal from federal relief plan programs,
depriving others who are most in need.”

“The defendant’s actions cheated a program designed to assist people who were
suffering as a result of the COVID pandemic,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge, Joseph E.
Carrico. “Today’s sentencing exemplifies the continued commitment of the FBI and our
federal and state law enforcement partners to hold those who engage in COVID relief
fraud accountable for their actions.”

Assistant United States Attorney Steven Neff represented the United States.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Labor Office of Inspector
General and the FBI as part of the Smoky Mountains Financial Crimes Task Force.

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.
                                        ###

Contact
Rachelle Barnes
Public Affairs Officers
(865) 545-4167

Updated August 7, 2024

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

FINANCIAL FRAUD
Components
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
USAO - Tennessee, Eastern


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