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U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Springfield Woman Sentenced for Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Scheme (USAO D-MA 06/24/2022) (2022-06-29)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, dated June 24, 2022, announcing that Audri Ford-Victory, 61, a Springfield woman, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to three years of probation, with six months to be served in home confinement. The release states that Ford-Victory pleaded guilty on Jan. 31, 2022 to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. According to the release, Ford-Victory submitted 25 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims in Massachusetts on behalf of individuals living outside Massachusetts, and the Department of Unemployment Assistance issued $215,246 in payments to individuals not entitled to them. It states that Ford-Victory received kickback payments for submitting the claims.

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“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Springfield Woman Sentenced for Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Scheme (USAO D-MA 06/24/2022) (2022-06-29).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-springfield-woman-sentenced-for-pandemic-u-55caf06713/, SHA-256 4986ada4e10dcbef7b2e14be8fd0ba036cb0781610af5887083329c5c7a0feda.

Full text

                                     Department of Justice

                                       U.S. Attorney’s Office

                                     District of Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       Friday, June 24, 2022



Springfield Woman Sentenced for Pandemic Unemployment
                    Fraud Scheme
       Defendant submitted 25 fraudulent PUA claims on behalf of others
BOSTON – A Springfield woman was sentenced yesterday for her involvement in a scheme to
fraudulently obtain COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.

Audri Ford-Victory, 61, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to three
years of probation, with six months to be served in home confinement. On Jan. 31, 2022, Ford-
Victory pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy.

In March 2020, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act created a temporary federal
unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which in
Massachusetts is administered by the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA). This
program provides unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who are not eligible for other
types of unemployment benefits.

Ford-Victory submitted 25 PUA claims in Massachusetts on behalf of individuals living outside of
Massachusetts. As a result, Massachusetts DUA issued $215,246 in payments to individuals not
entitled to PUA benefits. Ford-Victory received kickback payments in exchange for submitting the
fraudulent claims.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S.
Secret Service, Boston Field Office; and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the
Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations – Labor Racketeering and
Fraud, New York Regional Office made the announcement. The Massachusetts Department of
Unemployment Assistance provided assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Christopher J. Markham of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit and Neil L. Desroches
of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case.

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.
Topic(s):
Coronavirus
Financial Fraud
Component(s):
USAO - Massachusetts
                                                                                Updated June 24, 2022

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2022-06-29-Springfield-Woman-Sentenced-for-Pandemic-Unemployment-Fraud-Scheme-USAO-D-MA-06-24-2022.pdf
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www.oig.dol.gov
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