NC Prison Worker Guilty in Fake Lease Scam to Get COVID Funds; Could Face 10 Years Behind Bars; Bloomington Woman Convicted in COVID-19 Benefits Fraud Scheme, and other C-Virus related stories
NC prison worker guilty in fake lease scam to get COVID funds; could face 10 years behind bars:
A North Carolina prison worker pleaded guilty Tuesday in a scheme to get COVID-19 funds from the government, officials said.
Sean Tracy Dillard, 55, ran a scam to get government money from the program called North Carolina Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (NC HOPE), according to authorities.
The crime centered around loan applications for emergency rental assistance from NC Hope, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
“As part of his fraud scheme, the defendant …. submitted fictitious tenant lease agreements for multiple properties,” the news release said.
Dillard, a correctional officer with the North Carolina Department of Corrections, faces up to 10 years in prison.
The rental properties in question were located in Bertie County. —>READ MORE HERE
Bloomington woman convicted in COVID-19 benefits fraud scheme:
An international scheme involving ill-gotten COVID-19 benefits totaling millions of dollars has landed a Bloomington woman in prison with a $4 million debt to repay.
On Aug. 9, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sentenced 28-year-old Oluwatobi Seton to five years in prison. She pleaded guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Court documents allege Seton conspired with partners in Nigeria to obtain state and federal unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic by applying for benefits using stolen identities.
A news release from the State Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana said Seton and those working with her used stolen personal information to open GoBank accounts with debit cards.
They submitted fraudulent applications to unemployment agencies throughout the U.S., the statement said, and arranged to have the money deposited into the GoBank accounts.
“Seton then used fake driver’s licenses in the victims’ names to access the proceeds of the fraud scheme. At the time of her arrest, Seton had over 1,400 GoBank cards and 10 driver’s licenses with different names in her possession,” the news release said. —>READ MORE HERE
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