U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Midlothian Woman Pleads Guilty to $1.2 M COVID-19 Fraud Scheme (USAO ED-VA 05/17/2022) (2022-05-19)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia, dated May 17, 2022, announcing that Sadie Mitchell, 30, of Midlothian, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, Case No. 3:22-cr-44. According to court documents, from May 2020 to August 2021 Mitchell and a co-conspirator filed at least 20 fraudulent unemployment applications with the Virginia Employment Commission using inmates' information and at least 30 in other names, partly using a database Mitchell accessed as a Virginia Motor Vehicle Dealer Board employee, obtaining approximately $1 million. The release states that Mitchell also submitted 5 PPP applications and several EIDL applications with false statements. Sentencing is scheduled for August 23, with a maximum penalty of 30 years.

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Full text

                                      Department of Justice
                                        U.S. Attorney’s Office
                                      Eastern District of Virginia


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                           Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Midlothian Woman Pleads Guilty to $1.2 M COVID-19 Fraud
                      Scheme
RICHMOND, Va. – A Midlothian woman pleaded guilty today to defrauding the Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and the
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, using victims’ personal identifying information that
she obtained from her state government employment.

According to court documents, in the first of three fraud schemes, from May 2020 to August 2021,
Sadie Mitchell, 30, with the assistance of her co-conspirator, executed a scheme to defraud the Virginia
Employment Commission by filing at least 20 fraudulent unemployment applications using the
personal identifying information of inmates. Among the false information included in these
applications were false physical addresses, false last employers, and a false certification that the
inmates were ready, willing, and able to work in the event employment became available. The
conspirators further defrauded the Virginia Employment Commission by filing at least 30 fraudulent
applications in the names of other individuals whose personal identifying information was obtained,
in part, by Mitchell querying a government database she had access to as an employee of the Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dealer Board. Through this fraud scheme, the conspirators obtained approximately $1
million in PUA and Unemployment Insurance benefits.

Additionally, from June 2020 to June 2021, Mitchell devised and executed a scheme to defraud the
PPP and EIDL programs. The defendant submitted 5 PPP applications to a financial institution, each
containing false statements, false representations, or false certifications. For instance, these
applications contained false and fabricated gross figures and false certifications that the businesses
were in operation on February 15, 2020. The defendant further executed a scheme to defraud the EIDL
program, which was intended to give forgivable loans to small businesses. Mitchell submitted several
fraudulent EIDL applications to the Small Business Administration for businesses that had no
customers, employees, or business activity, and in those applications, she made false statements,
representations, and false certifications.

Mitchell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and is scheduled to be
sentenced on August 23. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Actual sentences for
federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will
determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory
factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Greg L. Torbenson, Acting Inspector
in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division; Derek Pickle, Special Agent-in-
Charge of the Washington, DC Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General;
and Joseph V. Cuffari, Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, made the
announcement after U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck accepted the plea.

Significant assistance was provided by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle, Virginia
Employment Commission and the Virginia Department of Corrections.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kashan K. Pathan and Carla Jordan-Detamore are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern
District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District
Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-44.
Topic(s):                                               USAO - Virginia, Eastern
Coronavirus
Financial Fraud                                         Contact:
                                                        USAVAE.Press
Component(s):


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