The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A Connecticut woman was arrested on several charges after she allegedly used the name of an incarcerated person to fraudulently collect $20,000 in unemployment benefits during the pandemic.
According to reports, the Statewide Prosecution Bureau and the Unemployment Compensation Fraud Unit received notification from the State Department of Labor concerning possible unemployment fraud.
The investigation reportedly revealed that between May and September 2020, an individual wrongfully and fraudulently collected $15,312 in unemployment benefits.
It was reported that the authorities identified a person of interest in the alleged fraud. They believed it was a 42-year-old woman from Fairfield who had been fired from her job.
In June and July of 2020, it was reported that the woman worked with another person and they allegedly filed for unemployment benefits. The pair allegedly filed the claim using the name of a person who was incarcerated and did not know their name was being used. The pair reportedly accepted $4,776 in unemployment benefits under that person’s name.
It was also alleged that the woman filed an additional unemployment claim in August and September using the identity of one of her relatives. It was found that she did not receive any money from the alleged attempt to collect the benefits under that name.
On December 2, the woman was taken into custody and booked. She is facing charges of two counts of first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, three counts of unemployment compensation fraud, two counts of third-degree identity theft, attempt to commit second-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit unemployment fraud, and conspiracy to commit third-degree identity theft.
She was released after posting a $40,000 non-surety bond pending a court appearance on December 12.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a theft offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.