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U.S. Department of Labor OIG, St. Paul Woman Sentenced for Role in $499,000 Fraudulent Pandemic Benefits Scheme (USAO WD-VA 06/14/2022) (2022-06-22)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia, dated June 14, 2022, announcing that Marissa Leanna Kiser, 27, a Saint Paul, Virginia woman, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. The release states that a jury found Kiser guilty in February 2022 of conspiracy to defraud the United States, fraud in connection with emergency benefits, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud in connection with emergency benefits and aggravated identity theft. It states that Kiser conspired with Leelynn Danielle Chytka, described as the ringleader, Gregory Marcus Elmer Tackett, Jeffery Ryan Tackett and others in filing fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims. Members of the conspiracy filed claims with the Virginia Employment Commission for at least 37 individuals, with a total actual loss of at least $499,000.

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“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, St. Paul Woman Sentenced for Role in $499,000 Fraudulent Pandemic Benefits Scheme (USAO WD-VA 06/14/2022) (2022-06-22).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-st-paul-woman-sentenced-for-role-in-499-00-8d0e6048a9/, SHA-256 58b7308fca02be2ad7014720b3f3a429399de12ccc33f46439be7278b96f3911.

Full text

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


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        Tuesday, June 14, 2022

St. Paul Woman Sentenced for Role in $499,000 Fraudulent
               Pandemic Benefits Scheme
ABINGDON, Va. – A Saint Paul, Virginia woman, who was found guilty in February 2022 of
conspiracy to defraud the United States, fraud in connection with emergency benefits, conspiracy to
commit mail fraud, mail fraud in connection with emergency benefits, and aggravated identity theft,
was sentenced today to 27 months in federal prison.

Marissa Leanna Kiser, 27 was found guilty by a jury in February 2022 of conspiring with Leelynn
Danielle Chytka, Gregory Marcus Elmer Tackett, Jeffery Ryan Tackett, and others to commit fraud
against the United States in connection with the filing of fraudulent claims for pandemic
unemployment benefits. Kiser lived with both Gregory Tackett and Leelynn Chytka, the ringleader of
the widespread conspiracy, at the time of her involvement in the scheme, and provided her personal
information to Chytka for the purpose of filing a fraudulent claim on her behalf.

Over the course of nine months, members of the conspiracy filed fraudulent claims with the Virginia
Employment Commission on behalf of at least 37 individuals, with a total actual loss of at least
$499,000.

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia; Syreeta Scott,
Special Agent-in-Charge, Philadelphia Region, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector
General, and Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service- Criminal
Investigation made the announcement.

The Department of Labor - Office of the Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal
Investigation - Washington, D.C. Field Office, the Norton Police Department, and the Russell County
Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel J. Murphy and Michael Baudinet 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 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
Component(s):   USAO - Virginia, Western

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