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U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Novi Man Charged in Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme (USAO ED-MI 05/06/2021) (2021-05-12)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan, dated May 6, 2021, announcing that Terrell Dwayne Mason, 39, a Novi man, was charged in a criminal complaint with aggravated identity theft, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in a scheme to defraud the State of Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency. The complaint alleges that Mason used the identities of inmates in state and federal prison to file claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits. The release states that Mason allegedly filed over 40 fraudulent claims, which allegedly resulted in payments of over $300,000 and would have paid over $800,000 if not detected. Mason, on supervised release after a prior federal conviction, was arrested by the United States Marshals Service in Oklahoma.

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Cite this document

“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Novi Man Charged in Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme (USAO ED-MI 05/06/2021) (2021-05-12).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-novi-man-charged-in-unemployment-insurance-715e1b3a1d/, SHA-256 0c83985fba42685b727b461f9ac08a127b4985697fe40b6f17199776e1960027.

Full text

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


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                          Thursday, May 6, 2021

     Novi Man Charged in Unemployment Insurance Fraud
                          Scheme
DETROIT – A Novi man was charged in a criminal complaint with aggravated identity theft, mail
fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in a scheme to defraud the State of Michigan’s (SOM)
Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA), announced Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin.

Mohsin was joined in the announcement by Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region,
U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and Timothy Kolar, Administrator of the
Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic
Opportunity.

Charged is Terrell Dwayne Mason, 39.

The criminal complaint alleges that Mason defrauded the State of Michigan’s Unemployment
Insurance Agency by unlawfully using the identities of inmates in state and federal prison to file
claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits. To date, the investigation has shown that
Mason allegedly filed over 40 fraudulent claims. Mason allegedly used his relationship with a State
of Michigan Unemployment Insurance employee to process the bad claims through the state’s UI
system. The complaint further alleges that the claims resulted in payments of over $300,000 and
would have paid over $800,000 if not detected by law enforcement.

Mason, who is on supervised release after serving a prison sentence for a prior federal conviction for
conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, was tracked to and arrested by the United States Marshals
Service in Oklahoma on a warrant for allegations he violated the terms of his release. Proceedings to
address Mason’s alleged violations of supervised release are pending before United States District
Judge Robert H. Cleland.

The criminal complaint is a result of an investigation by the United States Department of Labor –
Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Chasteen.

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.

                                                 ###
Topic(s):                                              Component(s):
Coronavirus                                            USAO - Michigan, Eastern

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www.oig.dol.gov
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