Reports

Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Rolanda Wingfield (39, Tampa) with two counts of access device fraud, one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Wingfield faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each of the access device offenses, as well as a consecutive two years in federal prison for the aggravated identity offenses. The indictment also notifies Wingfield that the United States intends to forfeit any proceeds, which are...

Gulfport, Miss. – A Kiln, Mississippi man pled guilty to wire fraud related to the COVID pandemic.

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) is charged with conducting oversight of pandemic-related spending to prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. In May 2021, we engaged MITRE, a not-for-profit federally funded research and development center, to conduct an independent study of lessons learned from the administration of pandemic-related emergency funding for unemployment insurance (UI) benefit programs in a sample of states. The objective of this study was to increase understanding of how states implemented pandemic UI benefit programs and how their...

A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging Jerry Phillips, age 24, of Temple Hills, Maryland, for the federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft; and Jaleel Phillips, age 24, of Temple Hills, Maryland, for wire fraud, in relation to an alleged scheme to unlawfully obtain COVID-19 relief loans and unemployment benefits.