The Department of Justice pledged to hold accountable those who misused relief funds intended for Americans impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, and these recent sentencings serve as a reminder to their pledge. The DOJ announced that three individuals from Georgia— Macovian Doston, Shatara Hubbard, and Torella Wynn—were sentenced for their roles in a $30 million COVID-19 unemployment fraud scheme.
The defendants were previously found guilty of filing over 5,000 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with the Georgia Department of Labor between March 2020 and November 2022. According to court documents, the defendants created fictitious employers and fabricated lists of employees using stolen personal information. Some of this data was obtained by paying an employee at an Atlanta-area hospital network to unlawfully access patient records, while other details were purchased online. The stolen funds were then disbursed via prepaid debit cards mailed to various locations.
Dotson received 15 years in prison plus three years of supervised release. Hubbard was sentenced to six years in prison and three years of supervised release. And Wynn received one year in prison and three years of supervised release. All three were ordered to pay restitution, with the exact amount to be determined late.
The DOJ will continue to pursue complex fraud cases associated with relief programs meant to assist unemployed individuals during the pandemic. The attorneys at Chilivis Grubman represent clients of all types and sizes in connection to white collar crime. If you need assistance with such a matter, please contact us today.