A former State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency worker and her ex-boyfriend were sentenced in a fraud conspiracy.
The backstory:
Timeka Johnson, 44, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiring to engage in wire fraud, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced Thursday.
As a result of the conspiracy, over $250,000 in fraudulent unemployment assistance payments were made by the State of Michigan.
Johnson ex-romantic partner Ray Anthony Eddington, 45, was sentenced to 36 months after pleading guilty to conspiring to engage in wire fraud.
As part of their sentences, the defendants were ordered to pay $250,001 in restitution.
Johnson was an employee for the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. Her duties included reviewing, processing, and verifying the legitimacy of unemployment insurance claims.
Court records said Johnson used her access to fraudulently process insurance claims in the names of third parties.
During the scheme, Johnson did the following:
- Accessed third-party unemployment insurance assistance claim information without authorization.
- Dismissed and improperly closed fraud prevention triggers and information requests relating to third-party unemployment insurance assistance.
- Uploaded false and fraudulent documentation to support illegitimate unemployment insurance assistance claims, including false and fraudulent personal identifying information in the names of third parties.
- Falsely and fraudulently certified the entitlement of third-party claims as being eligible to receive unemployment insurance assistance funds.
- Caused at least one other Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency employee to fraudulently access and alter third-party unemployment insurance assistance claim information for Johnson’s benefit in exchange for financial compensation from Johnson.
- Caused unauthorized debit cards to be issued in the names of third-party unemployment insurance assistance claimants.
- Caused improper payments to be issued in connection with unemployment insurance assistance claims.
- Conducted unauthorized cash withdrawals of unemployment insurance assistance issued in the name of a third party.
Many of the third-party unemployment benefits were withdrawn from local ATMs by Eddington as part of the scheme.
"It is one thing to steal if you are hungry and can’t find a job. But it is despicable to abuse your position of trust so that you can steal from a program needed to help the unemployed," said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon.
"As a State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency Investigator, Timeka Johnson had insider access and the authority to help people—instead, she abused that trust by teaming up with Ray Eddington and others to commit identity theft and fraud. Their actions harmed the very communities that rely on these unemployment resources the most," said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.
The Source: Information for this report is from the US Attorney Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.