A Maryland man was sentenced on Friday for his involvement in an unemployment insurance benefits fraud during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland.
According to the USAO, Michael Cooley, Jr., 26, will serve more than seven years (87 months) in federal prison after pleading guilty in January 2025.
Cooley was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a defrauding scheme involving the Maryland Department of Labor and the California Employment Development Department.
According to the guilty plea, Cooley plotted with Isiah Lewis, 35, and Alonzo Brown, 27, from June 2020 to March 2021 to utilize the personal information of more than 60 people.
To escape detection, the three filed for unemployment in Maryland and California using the persons’ names, dates of birth, and social security numbers via anonymous emails.
According to court filings, the scam caused a loss of more than $300,000 in jobless benefits.
According to the USAO, Cooley was ordered to pay the victims $310,428.08 in restitution for his leadership participation in the scheme. He has also been ordered to relinquish any money, property, or assets he obtained through the plan.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 should contact the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or use the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.