U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Lackawanna County Man Charged with Committing over $1,500,000 in COVID-19 Pandemic Fraud (USAO MD-PA 07/19/2024) (2024-07-22)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania, dated July 19, 2024, announcing that James G. Miller, Jr., age 53, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was charged in a criminal information with wire fraud. According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the information alleges that Miller and coconspirators fraudulently obtained in excess of $1,500,000 through applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits, Lost Wage Assistance payments and Paycheck Protection Program loans filed in the names of identity theft victims. The release states that the PPP applications were allegedly filed for fabricated businesses with forged federal tax documentation. It notes a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and that informations are only allegations.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

PRESS RELEASE



Lackawanna County Man Charged
with Committing over $1,500,000
in COVID-19 Pandemic Fraud
Friday, July 19, 2024


For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
announced today that James G. Miller, Jr., age 53, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was
charged in a criminal information with wire fraud.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the information alleges that
Miller and his coconspirators fraudulently obtained in excess of $1,500,000 by filing
fraudulent applications for pandemic stimulus funds, including Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, Lost Wage Assistance (LWA) payments, and
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The PUA, LWA, and PPP applications allegedly
submitted by Miller and his confederates were filed in the names of victims of identity
theft, and bore false representations. For instance, the PUA applications contained false
information about the identity theft victims’ demographics, employment statuses, and
availability to work. Likewise, the PPP applications were filed on behalf of fabricated
businesses, and bore false financial information and forged federal tax documentation.

The PUA program was created by the March 2020 CARES Act, as part of the United
States government’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
public’s health and economic well-being. The PUA program was designed to provide
unemployment benefits to individuals not eligible for regular unemployment
compensation or extended unemployment benefits. The LWA program was funded by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, pursuant to the President’s authority
under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. LWA
payments were designed to supplement unemployment payments during the COVID-19
pandemic.
The PPP program, funded by the CARES Act, was designed to help small businesses
facing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. PPP funds were offered in
forgivable loans, provided that certain criteria are met, including use of the funds for
employee payroll, mortgage interest, lease, and utilities expenses.

Today, James G. Miller, Jr. is being held accountable for stealing over $1.5 million from
three different COVID relief funds,” said Christopher Nielsen, Inspector in Charge of the
Philadelphia Division for the Postal Inspection Service. “Congress set these funds aside
to help people and businesses survive the pandemic of 2020 and 2021, not for Mr. Miller
and his coconspirators’ personal profit. The Postal Inspection Service has a long history
investigating fraud schemes and will continue to do so to protect the American people. I
want to thank the special agents of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and
Department of Labor Office of Inspector General for partnering with us on this
investigation. I also want to thank the United States Attorney’s Office in Scranton, PA for
supporting the investigation and prosecuting the case.”

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.

"The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, Joseph V. Cuffari, Ph.D, said,
"Exploiting pandemic relief programs for personal enrichment is unconscionable. DHS
OIG will continue to prioritize these investigations, and together with our law
enforcement partners, we will hold these individuals accountable for their actions."

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Office of the
Inspector General, the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, and the
United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo is
prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalties under federal law for the charge of wire fraud is 20 years of
imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A
sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the
applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent
unless and until found guilty in court.
###

Updated July 19, 2024

Component
USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle


File and source

File

2024-07-22-Lackawanna-County-Man-Charged-with-Committing-over-1-500-000-in-COVID-19-Pandemic-Fraud-USAO-MD-PA.pdf

Size

108,104 bytes

SHA-256

2f2cf9d86bfcc315e212d0f12cfca981e09bc9260362bd5b8012cea2b7be9999

Our copy

2024-07-22-Lackawanna-County-Man-Charged-with-Committing-over-1-500-000-in-COVID-19-Pandemic-Fraud-USAO-MD-PA.pdf

Original

www.oig.dol.gov