RIGHT SPEAK: COVID-19 Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme Suspect Sentenced; Buckhannon Man Pleads Guilty to Multiple Fraud Charges During COVID-19 Pandemic, and other C-Virus related stories

COVID-19 unemployment insurance fraud scheme suspect sentenced:

The suspect in a COVID-19 unemployment insurance fraud scheme was sentenced to 51 months in prison, August 7, 2024.

Evelyn Blevins of Souths Pittsburg, Tennessee pled guilty to Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft for being involved in a scheme to defraud several state’s COVID-19 unemployment programs.

Blevins was ordered to pay the Department of Labor in Tennessee and California $109,683 in restitution.

She also has to forfeit $109,683 to the United States in part of a money judgement.

“The defendant’s actions cheated a program designed to assist people who were suffering as a result of the COVID pandemic. Today’s sentencing exemplifies the continued commitment of the FBI and our federal and state law enforcement partners to hold those who engage in COVID relief fraud accountable for their actions,” said Joseph E. Carrico, FBI Special Agent in Charge. --->READ MORE HERE

Buckhannon man pleads guilty to multiple fraud charges during COVID-19 pandemic:

A Buckhannon man has pleaded guilty for conspiring to steal public money, property or records.

Christopher Grant, 40, plead guilty to the charges on Monday, admitting that he fraudulently received $14,336 in unemployment funds and $20,832 in a Paycheck Protection Program loan.

Grant was a sales manager at an auto dealership in Charleston, but when COVID-19 hit, Grant was laid off. When Grant was laid off in March 2020, he received legitimate unemployment benefits until he returned to work in April 2020.

Once Grant returned to work, he continued to apply for unemployment benefits and admitted to obtaining $14,336 in benefits that included COVID-19 supplementary funds from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program (FPUC) of the CARES Act from at least April 25, 2020, through July 25, 2020.

Grant fraudulently obtained the $20,832 on March 21, 2021, when he applied for a PPP loan for the income he earned as an independent contractor for the year before. Grant falsely submitted that he earned $104,580 in 2020 as an independent contractor, a total that would qualify him for maximum loan amount of $20,832 for independent contractors. In reality, Grant had earned $33,900 as an independent contractor in 2020. --->READ MORE HERE