U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Six Individuals Indicted and Arrested for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Fraud and the Misuse of Social Security Numbers (USAO D-PR 05/23/2023) (2023-05-26)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Puerto Rico, dated May 23, 2023, announcing that on May 17, 2023 a federal grand jury returned six separate indictments charging six individuals with fraud to obtain Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits totaling $350,616. According to the indictments, the defendants submitted fraudulent unemployment applications to the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources and used false social security numbers to obtain checks by mail. The release lists an amount for each defendant, including $103,422 for Roberto J. Hernández Rivera and $87,972 for Jeremy Sánchez Rivera; the others charged are Axel J. Pagán Rodríguez, Ednier Torres-Burgos, Eli Eteniel Correa Fernández and Nomar J. Mimbs Machiavelo. The charges are theft of government money, mail fraud and misuse of Social Security numbers.

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Cite this document

“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Six Individuals Indicted and Arrested for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Fraud and the Misuse of Social Security Numbers (USAO D-PR 05/23/2023) (2023-05-26).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-six-individuals-indicted-and-arrested-for-88f4742bb1/, SHA-256 3ebdda2f0b8bc4fddcf69bfe3d5ad1e7aefab576bf4299f46978ced306df291b.

Full text

PRESS RELEASE

Six Individuals Indicted and
Arrested for Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
Fraud and the Misuse of Social
Security Numbers
Tuesday, May 23, 2023

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

SAN JUAN, P.R. – On May 17, 2023, a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico
returned six separate indictments charging six individuals with engaging in fraud to
obtainPandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits totaling $350,616,
announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
Various federal agencies were involved in the investigations, including the United States
Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Social Security Administration Office of the
Inspector General (SSA OIG), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with the
assistance of the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General
(USDOL-OIG), the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources, and the
Puerto Rico Police Bureau.

According to the indictments, the defendants engaged in schemes to defraud the
Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources (Departamento del Trabajo y
Recursos Humanos, “DTRH”) by submitting fraudulent applications to obtain
unemployment insurance benefits which contained PUA funds.

The defendants charged are: (1) Roberto J. Hernández Rivera, who fraudulently obtained
$103,422; (2) Jeremy Sánchez Rivera, who fraudulently obtained $87,972; (3) Axel J.
Pagán Rodríguez, who fraudulently obtained $86,772; (4) Ednier Torres-Burgos, who
fraudulently obtained $34,956; (5) Eli Eteniel Correa Fernández, who fraudulently
obtained $19,380; and (6) Nomar J. Mimbs Machiavelo, who fraudulently obtained
$18,114.
“As our COVID-19 fraud prosecutions demonstrate, we continue to investigate these
cases. Those who seek to make “easy” money by stealing federal funds from the
government should take heed that there are consequences to your actions,” said U.S.
Attorney Muldrow.

“Operation Chango emphasizes the importance of collaborative efforts between the U.S.
Postal Inspection Service and our federal and state partners, reinforcing the U.S. Postal
Inspection Service’s mission of protecting the public and preventing the criminal misuse
of our mail system.” said Miami Division Postal Inspector in Charge Juan A. Vargas.

“This violation is not new. At this point, it is common knowledge that many thought they
could take advantage of a global crisis and make additional income by breaking the law.
This was never the case, it isn’t the case now and it will never be the case,” said Special
Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office, Joseph González. “No matter how long
it takes, the FBI and our state and federal partners, will continue to investigate these
cases to bring these criminals to Justice. So if you, or anyone you know has been a
witness to this crime, you should report it by calling (787) 987-6500 or leaving a tip
online by visiting tips.FBI.gov. To those who know they’ve broken the law, it’s best you
reach out to us before we reach out to you.”

Under the provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,
persons who were business owners, self-employed workers, independent contractors, or
gig workers qualified for federal benefits administered by the DTRH if they previously
performed such work in Puerto Rico and were unemployed, partially unemployed,
unable to work, or unavailable to work due to a COVID-19 related reason. To obtain
these federal benefits, individuals could apply online through the DTRH’s web site—
www.trabajo.pr.gov. Claimants answered various questions to establish their eligibility
and were required to provide personal identifying information, which included their
name, mailing address, gender, email, phone number, social security number, and date
of birth. Moreover, claimants had to identify a qualifying occupational status and
COVID-19 related reason for being out of work. In their application, claimants could also
submit several documents as evidence of their income.

If the DTRH approved a claimant’s application, the DTRH would send a check to the
claimant via the United States Postal Service for qualified benefits which could contain
regular unemployment insurance benefits and federal funds in the form of PUA, Federal
Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment
Compensation benefits.

The indictments charge the six individuals with theft of government money in PUA
benefits, mail fraud and the misuse of Social Security numbers. The defendants engaged
in deceptive conduct designed to fraudulently obtain multiple unemployment checks via
mail from the DTRH by using false social security numbers.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vanessa D. Bonano Rodríguez and R. Vance Eaton are in
charge of the prosecution of these cases. If convicted, the defendants are facing the
following sentences: 20 years of imprisonment for mail fraud and 10 years of
imprisonment for theft of government money; a fine of up to $250,000; and three years
of supervised release.

To report a COVID-19-related fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National
Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or via
the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-
complaint-form

The indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are
presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

###
Updated May 23, 2023

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

DISASTER FRAUD

FINANCIAL FRAUD

Components
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
USAO - Puerto Rico

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