U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Federal Inmate Pleads Guilty to Role in Stealing more than $2.2 Million in Pandemic Assistance Benefits (USAO ED-MI 05/10/2022) (2022-05-12)
Summary
A May 10, 2022 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announcing that Cortney Daquan Shields, a Bureau of Prisons inmate, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh, III, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to court records, from at least May 2020 through at least July 2021 Shields and others submitted more than 240 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to more than 20 states and territories, obtaining more than $2,200,000, and Shields also obtained a $20,833.00 PPP loan. He took part from the Federal Correctional Complex in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, receiving proceeds in his commissary account, and agreed to forfeit $26,794.11 seized from it. Daeshawn Tamar Posey, Chaz Duane Shields and Brittany Levett Witherspoon are charged in a related complaint.
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“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Federal Inmate Pleads Guilty to Role in Stealing more than $2.2 Million in Pandemic Assistance Benefits (USAO ED-MI 05/10/2022) (2022-05-12).”
Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-federal-inmate-pleads-guilty-to-role-in-st-94ee06ddc9/
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Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of Michigan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Federal Inmate Pleads Guilty to Role in Stealing more than
$2.2 Million in Pandemic Assistance Benefits
DETROIT - A current Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmate (and former Michigan resident) pleaded
guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to defraud multiple
state workforce agencies and the Small Business Administration out of more than $2,200,000 in
Covid-19 pandemic assistance, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Joining in the announcement were Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S.
Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Special Agent-in-Charge James A. Tarasca, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Andre Martin Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Postal Service Office of
Inspector General, and Rita Saenz Director of the California Employment Development Department.
Cortney Daquan Shields, 33, entered his guilty plea this morning, before United States District Judge
George Caram Steeh, III.
According to court records, beginning at least as early as May 2020 and continuing through at least
July 2021, Shields and others known and unknown to the government agreed to commit wire
fraud. Specifically, Shields and his co-conspirators, with the intent to defraud, submitted more than
240 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to more than 20 states and territories, fraudulently
obtaining more than $2,200,000 in benefits. Shields also successfully obtained a fraudulent
$20,833.00 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. Shields participated in the scheme from
within the confines of the Federal Correctional Complex in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, where he was
serving sentence on an unrelated fraud case. Members of the conspiracy transferred portions of the
fraud proceeds to Shields via wire into his Bureau of Prisons commissary account. As part of his
plea, Shields agreed to the forfeiture of $26,794.11 seized from that account.
Charged in a related complaint are Daeshawn Tamar Posey, 25, of Detroit; Chaz Duane Shields, 33,
of Detroit; and Brittany Levett Witherspoon, 25, of Warren.
A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Trial cannot be held on felony charges in a
complaint. When the investigation is completed, a determination will be made whether to seek a
felony indictment.
This is case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan A. Particka, Timothy J.
Wyse, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Corinne M. Lambert. The investigation is being
conducted jointly by agents from the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General.
Topic(s):
Coronavirus
Component(s):
USAO - Michigan, Eastern
Updated May 10, 2022
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