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U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Woodbridge Man Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Unemployment Insurance Fraud (USAO ED-VA 02/17/2023) (2023-02-23)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia, dated February 16, 2023, announcing that Osman Kanu of Woodbridge pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining pandemic unemployment benefits from California. According to court documents, from August 2020 to on or about September 28, 2020, Kanu filed at least 15 fraudulent unemployment insurance applications with the California Employment Development Department using the personal identifying information of victims. During a traffic stop, law enforcement found 15 visa debit cards with different names. California EDD funded $308,400 to the cards, the intended loss was $628,708, and Kanu withdrew $178,000. U.S. District Judge Michael E. Nachmanoff accepted the plea; sentencing is scheduled for June 1.

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Cite this document

“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Woodbridge Man Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Unemployment Insurance Fraud (USAO ED-VA 02/17/2023) (2023-02-23).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-woodbridge-man-pleads-guilty-to-pandemic-u-b63f96f157/, SHA-256 1d4c976bbc936c2ddd683f51b5832d3b87abd42430862d3fc30a57a786cbc23f.

Full text

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      Thursday, February 16, 2023

Woodbridge Man Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Unemployment
                   Insurance Fraud

 ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge man pleaded guilty today to illegally obtaining pandemic
 unemployment benefits from the state of California.

 According to court documents, from August 2020 to on or about September 28, 2020, Osman Kanu,
 26, executed a scheme to defraud the California Employment Development Department (California
 EDD) by filing at least 15 fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) applications using the personal
 identifying information (PII) of victims. On each of these applications, the defendant knowingly made
 false statements and false certifications to mislead California EDD. These included falsely submitting
 applications with the PII of real individuals without their permission or consent; falsely certifying the
 real individuals’ employment history and unemployment status; falsely certifying that the real
 individuals would receive the UI benefits; and falsely certifying the real individuals’ home addresses.
 Kanu committed this fraud from Virginia. He did not live in California during the scheme or qualify for
 California EDD benefits.

 During a lawful traffic stop on Kanu’s vehicle, law enforcement discovered 15 visa debit cards with
 different names on each of them. After further investigation, federal law enforcement determined that
 the debit cards provided access to UI funds provided by California EDD and Kanu was arrested.

 In total, California EDD funded $308,400 to the prepaid debit cards. The total intended loss was
 $628,708. In total, Kanu withdrew $178,000 from the prepaid debit cards between late August and
 September 2020.

 The California EDD funds loaded on the prepaid debit cards were derived from the Pandemic
 Unemployment Assistance program, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program,
 and from funds made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator to
 provide grants to participating states, territories, and the District of Columbia to administer delivery of
 lost wages assistance. All these programs were intended to help workers suffering economic
 consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Kanu is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Actual
 sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge
 will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other
 statutory factors.

 Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Troy Springer, Acting Special
 Agent in Charge of the National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General,
 made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Michael E. Nachmanoff accepted the plea.

 The Arlington County Police Department provided assistance in this case.

 Assistant U.S. Attorney Carina A. Cuellar is prosecuting the case.
 A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District
 of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District
 Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-32.


Topic(s):
Disaster Fraud
Component(s):
USAO - Virginia, Eastern
Contact:
USAVAE.Press@usdoj.gov
                                                                                       Updated February 16, 2023

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2023-02-23-Woodbridge-Man-Pleads-Guilty-to-Pandemic-Unemployment-Insurance-Fraud-USAO-ED-VA-02-17-2023.pdf
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SHA-256
1d4c976bbc936c2ddd683f51b5832d3b87abd42430862d3fc30a57a786cbc23f
Our copy
2023-02-23-Woodbridge-Man-Pleads-Guilty-to-Pandemic-Unemployment-Insurance-Fraud-USAO-ED-VA-02-17-2023.pdf
Original
www.oig.dol.gov
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