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Thousands of incarcerated people allegedly obtained unemployment benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday.
The officials shared updates regarding an ongoing investigation into fraudulent benefits applications during an afternoon news conference. They said 33 individuals face state and federal charges for their alleged involvement in the offense.
The group charged is comprised of state and county inmates as well as others, described as "accomplices," who are not incarcerated and either assisted or benefited from the alleged scheme.
Brady said preliminary findings from a federal inquiry showed 10,000 Pennsylvania inmates' names appeared on applications for unemployment benefits, meaning up to $100 million in CARES Act payments could have been distributed fraudulently. In comments to Newsweek, a representative from Attorney General Shapiro's office explained the applications do not necessary implicate all 10,000 inmates since it was not clear the names were used with their knowledge.
"The unprecedented scope and audacity of this inmate unemployment compensation fraud is appalling. These benefits were intended to help Pennsylvania workers make it through a difficult time. These inmates and their accomplices took advantage of this national emergency to line their pockets through fraud," Brady said in a statement released after Tuesday's conference.
Pennsylvania's unemployment benefits program offers weekly payments to individuals who qualify in amounts equal to roughly 50 percent of their previous wages, up to $573 per week. Under the CARES Act, each unemployment applicant received a $600 bonus added to weekly payments through July 31. The representative from Shapiro's office told Newsweek individuals who allegedly participated in the compensation scam could have received as much as $10,000 in weekly pandemic benefits over the course of five months.
Indications that inmates were unlawfully collecting COVID-19 unemployment benefits first came to light several months ago. In Pennsylvania, detectives working for the Allegheny County Police Department overheard a homicide defendant and his girlfriend discussing pandemic payments during an intercepted phone call, CBS Pittsburgh reported in July. Detectives relayed their findings to federal officials after learning other local inmates were also collecting benefits.
At the time, an investigation was already underway at the U.S. Department of Labor. It pertained to pandemic benefits allegedly obtained by inmates in other parts of Pennsylvania and across the country. Incarcerated people do not meet criteria to receive unemployment assistance—during the pandemic and otherwise—since recipients are required to actively look for opportunities, and be able to work if an offer is extended, in order to qualify.
ADD GRAPH ABOUT WHAT BENEFITS THEY WERE ELIGIBLE FOR/HOW MUCH THEY WERE GETTING.
"As many waited and filed and struggled, these individuals cashed in," Shapiro tweeted on Tuesday. "Our work here is not done. We will continue to root out scammers taking advantage of a system put in place to help during a trying time."
The Pennsylvania AG asked anyone who receives a suspicious bank deposit or paper check without having applied for one to "notify state officials right away."
