U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Six Plead Guilty to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Fraud (USAO ND-OH 07/30/2024) (2024-08-02)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio, dated July 30, 2024, announcing that six people pleaded guilty in a 33-count indictment to illegally obtaining nearly $3,000,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits using other people's personal identifying information. According to court documents, from March 2020 to August 2021 Clarissa Cheney, Kevin Gilmore, Tiara Henderson, Ladessa Battle, Lynard Mitchell and Marcelys Jones submitted fraudulent PUA applications to the California Employment Development Department and other state workforce agencies. The release states that the defendants falsified details such as employment history and residency, and some used the mailed debit cards for ATM cash withdrawals in the Northern District of Ohio. Sentencing was scheduled for September and October 2024.

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Full text

PRESS RELEASE



Six Plead Guilty to Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance Fraud
Tuesday, July 30, 2024


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

Nearly $3,000,000 in Losses to Multiple States

CLEVELAND – Six people have pleaded guilty in a 33-count indictment with illegally
obtaining nearly $3,000,000 in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
benefits using other people’s personal identifying information. The PUA program is
overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor and was created under the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 to provide temporary benefits to
workers who lost work for COVID-19-related reasons.

According to court documents, from March 2020 to August 2021, the defendants,
Clarissa Cheney, 30, of Cleveland Heights; Kevin Gilmore, 38, of Beachwood; Tiara
Henderson, 37, of Lakewood; Ladessa Battle, 29, of South Euclid; Lynard Mitchell, 39, of
South Euclid; and Marcelys Jones, 29, of Cleveland Heights, submitted fraudulent
applications for PUA benefits to the California Employment Development Department
(EDD) and other state workforce agencies around the country.

“The pandemic created unprecedented financial challenges for millions of Americans
who were unable to work because their employers were forced to cut back business
operations or close entirely. PUA was intended to assist those individuals—workers in
dire need of financial support while unemployed—yet these defendants stole millions of
dollars from that program,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern
District of Ohio. “These guilty pleas demonstrate our office’s commitment to prosecute
and hold criminally responsible those who try to scam federal relief programs, waste our
tax dollars, and steal the identities of others. We thank our law enforcement partners
for helping us hold these defendants responsible for their crimes.”

The defendants falsified application details, such as employment history and residency,
to appear eligible for PUA benefits. As a result, California EDD and other agencies
approved nearly $3,000,000 in unemployment insurance benefits in the defendants’
names, and those of other individuals. The benefits were pre-loaded onto bank-issued
debit cards and sent through the U.S. mail. After receiving the debit cards, some of the
defendants used the cards to make cash withdrawals at various ATMs in the Northern
District of Ohio.

“The deliberate and conniving actions to cheat a program designed to assist people who
were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic is inexcusable,” said FBI Special Agent in
Charge, Greg Nelsen. “Their actions, including exploiting the identities of a multitude of
individuals, will have a profound and long-lasting impact. The FBI and our partners will
continue to identify and investigate those who commit pandemic-related fraud and seek
justice for the victims."

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in September and October 2024 and
face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will
determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other
statutory factors.

“The defendants engaged in an unemployment insurance (UI) fraud scheme that
targeted multiple state workforce agencies. These individuals conspired to file
fraudulent UI claims in the names of other individuals, diverting vital taxpayer resources
away from unemployed American workers in dire need of UI benefits. These guilty pleas
affirm the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General’s commitment to
protecting the integrity of the UI program. We are grateful for our many law
enforcement partners, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Dana Johnson, Acting
Special Agent in Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of
Inspector General.

The Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and the FBI investigated this
case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alejandro Abreu and Scott
Zarzycki.

Contact
Jessica Salas Novak

Jessica.Salas.Novak@usdoj.gov

Updated July 30, 2024

Topics
CORONAVIRUS
FINANCIAL FRAUD
Component
USAO - Ohio, Northern


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