U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Luzerne County Woman Sentenced For Methamphetamine Trafficking And Pandemic Fraud Offenses (USAO MD-PA 01/06/2022) (2022-01-14)

Summary

Press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, dated January 6, 2022, announcing that United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Christina Covey to 48 months' imprisonment for methamphetamine trafficking and 15 months for pandemic unemployment fraud, five months of it consecutive. It states that on May 20, 2021, Covey pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute between 1.5 and 5 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Hazleton area between October 2019 and February 2020. According to the release, while on pretrial release Covey filed false PUA applications and weekly certifications for two federal inmates, including codefendant Fredy Mendoza, securing nearly $30,000 on debit cards. Covey was ordered to pay $29,799 in restitution, and Mendoza is pending trial in the pandemic fraud case.

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                       United States Attorney John C. Gurganus
                            Middle District of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  PIO CONTACT: Dawn Clark
THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022                              WORK: (717) 221-4458
WWW.JUSTICE.GOV/USAO/PAM                               CELL:   (717) 975-7128
                                                       EMAIL: Dawn.Clark2@usdoj.gov

       LUZERNE COUNTY WOMAN SENTENCED FOR METHAMPHETAMINE
              TRAFFICKING AND PANDEMIC FRAUD OFFENSES

       SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of
Pennsylvania announced today that Christina Covey, age 34, formerly of Drums, Pennsylvania,
was sentenced by United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion, to 48 months’
imprisonment for methamphetamine trafficking, and 15 months’ imprisonment for committing
pandemic unemployment fraud, five months of which is to run consecutive to the
methamphetamine trafficking sentence.

        According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, on May 20, 2021, Covey pleaded
guilty to conspiring with several other individuals to distribute and possess with intent to
distribute between 1.5 and 5 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Hazleton area between
October 2019 and February 2020. During the scheme, conspirators mailed parcels containing
methamphetamine from Arizona to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, for retrieval and distribution.
Covey was involved in identifying and providing addresses of vacant houses to receive the
parcels. On one occasion, she retrieved a parcel containing methamphetamine from a vacant
house located on Sycamore Drive, in Drums, Pennsylvania.

         The methamphetamine trafficking case was investigated by Homeland Security
Investigations, the Postal Inspection Service, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office as
part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF
identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United
States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information
about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

        Covey also pleaded guilty to committing pandemic unemployment fraud while on pretrial
release for the federal narcotics charges. In that case, she filed false PUA applications on behalf
of two federal inmates—her codefendant in both cases, Fredy Mendoza, and another inmate.
The applications sought unemployment benefits for both inmates by claiming that they were laid
off because of the COVID-19 pandemic and available to work, despite their incarceration on
underlying federal drug trafficking charges. The conspirators subsequently filed false weekly
certifications required to continue receiving PUA benefits, ultimately securing nearly $30,000
dollars, which were mailed in debit cards to Covey. Covey used the majority of funds on
gambling expenses, and was ordered to pay $29,799 in restitution.

        “Christina Covey engaged in a scheme with her co-defendant to defraud the PUA
program by obtaining personal information from inmates in Lackawanna County Jail and
submitting fraudulent claims for PUA benefits on behalf of those inmates even though they were
incarcerated and not able and available to work. The U.S. Department of Labor Office of
Inspector General is grateful for our partnerships with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor
and our many law enforcement partners. We also want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for
their continued efforts to prosecute those who violate public benefit programs and commit
fraud,” stated Syreeta Scott, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Philadelphia Region, U.S.
Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

       The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (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.

        Fredy Mendoza remains in custody, pleaded guilty in the methamphetamine trafficking
case, and awaits sentencing. Mendoza is pending trial in the pandemic unemployment fraud
case.

       The methamphetamine trafficking case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny
P. Roberts. The pandemic case was investigated by the Postal Inspection Service and by the
Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo.

        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.

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