U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Laurel Man Sentenced to 53 Months in Federal Prison for Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme Involving More Than $1.5 Million in Losses (USAO D-MD 03/01/2024) (2024-03-05)

Summary

Press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, dated March 1, 2024, announcing that U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced Michael Akame Ngwese Ay Makoge of Laurel, Maryland to 53 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for a wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in a Maryland and California unemployment insurance fraud scheme. Judge Hurson also ordered Makoge to forfeit over $297,400 and pay restitution of $2,094,319. According to the plea agreement, from March 2020 to October 2021 Makoge and co-conspirators used victims' personal identifying information to submit fraudulent UI claims and used the debit cards for cash withdrawals. Co-defendant Christian Malik Adrea pleaded guilty on February 26, 2024, and sentencing is scheduled for May 30, 2024.

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Laurel Man Sentenced to 53 Months
in Federal Prison for
Unemployment Insurance Fraud
Scheme Involving More Than $1.5
Million in Losses
Friday, March 1, 2024

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


Co-Defendant Pleaded Guilty Earlier this Week to His Role in the
Conspiracy, which Submitted over 200 Fraudulent Unemployment
Insurance Claims Using the Personal Identifying Information of
Victims

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced Michael Akame
Ngwese Ay Makoge, a/k/a “Hype” and “2Hype”, age 29, of Laurel, Maryland, yesterday
to 53 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a wire
fraud conspiracy and for aggravated identity theft, related to a Maryland and California
unemployment insurance (“UI”) fraud scheme totaling more than $1.5 million. Judge
Hurson also ordered Makoge to forfeit over $297,400 and to pay restitution of
$2,094,319.

Co-defendant Christian Malik Adrea, a/k/a “Leak,” “Lil Leak,” age 26, of Mitchellville,
Maryland, pleaded guilty on February 26, 2024, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire
fraud, and aggravated identity theft for his role in the fraud scheme.

The sentence and guilty plea were announced by United States Attorney for the District
of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Ajay Lall of the U.S. Postal
Inspection Service - Washington Division (USPIS); Special Agent in Charge Troy W.
Springer of the National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector
General (DOL-OIG); Chief Amal E. Awad of the Anne Arundel County Police Department;
Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
Baltimore; Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police
(MSP); and Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division.

According to his plea agreement, from March 2020 to October 2021, Makoge and his
co-conspirators impersonated victims to submit fraudulent claims for pandemic-related
UI benefits in Maryland and California. As part of the scheme, Makoge and his co-
conspirators obtained the birthdates, social security numbers, and other personal
identifying information (“PII”) of numerous victims which they used to prepare and
submit fraudulent applications for UI benefits. The applications contained false
information, including the victims’ contact information, states of residence, and
availability for work. These fraudulent applications caused financial institutions to load
UI benefits onto debit cards and mail the cards to physical addresses provided and
monitored by Makoge and his co-conspirators. Once Makoge and his co-conspirators
received the fraudulently obtained benefits on the debit cards, they used them for cash
withdrawals and other transactions for their own financial benefit.

A search at Makoge’s residence on February 16, 2021, recovered 11 UI debit cards in the
names of six victims from the bedroom. Makoge, Adrea, and another co-conspirator
were present at the time of the search. The investigation also revealed numerous text
messages between Makoge and his co-conspirators, including Adrea, exchanging the PII
of victims and discussing the execution of the UI fraud scheme.

Adrea’s phone was also seized during the search and in the notes section, he had the
name, date of birth, and social security number of 22 victims. The total loss of funds
tied to these victims in the notes as well as those sent via text message totaled $195,556
and involved over 45 different fraudulent UI claims.

Further, Makoge made numerous ATM withdrawals using the identities of victims,
personally obtaining at least $35,540 as a result of his participation in the scheme. UI
records revealed that the Adrea and his co-conspirators are connected to multiple UI
profiles of actual victims whose identities were used to open accounts and obtain
benefits without their permission. These victims are also tied to texts and calls between
Adrea and his co-conspirators over several months. In all, Makoge, Adrea, and their co-
conspirators submitted more than 200 fraudulent UI claims using the names and PII of
victims, resulting in more than $1.6 million in losses.

Of the 11 defendants charged in this fraud scheme, five, including Makoge and Adrea,
have now pleaded guilty and two, Makoge and Dementrous Smith, have been
sentenced.
Adrea and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts his plea, Adrea will be
sentenced to 65 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson has
scheduled sentencing for May 30, 2024

The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout
the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-
19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
(“CARES”) Act. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance
to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The
strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by
criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law
enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to
identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

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.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the USPIS, DOL-OIG, the Anne
Arundel County Police Department, HSI, MSP, and ATF, for their work in the
investigation. Mr. Barron thanked the United States Marshals Service, the Prince
George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, and the Charles County Sheriff’s
Office for their assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth
McGuinn, who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources
available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-
md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

                                          ###

Updated March 1, 2024

Topic
CORONAVIRUS
Component
USAO - Maryland


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