A Milwaukee woman has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison after she devised a scheme to steal thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits that were made available under the federal COVID relief CARES Act.
Nikki Brown stole $499,498 in unemployment benefits, according to the Department of Justice. She pled guilty to one count of wire fraud. She’s also been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $494,498.
Beginning in March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several federal programs expanded unemployment insurance (UI) eligibility and UI benefits. This included the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program (PUA).
Due to social distancing restrictions, people looking to apply for COVID-19 benefits had to do so electronically.
From August 2020 through September 2021, Brown recruited other people to help file fraudulent federal unemployment claims in six different states, including Wisconsin. She convinced dozens of people to give her their personally identifiable information (PII) by promising to give them a portion of the fraud proceeds. Brown then used the PII to file false and fraudulent unemployment claims, which resulted in her stealing $494,498 of unemployment benefits.
“Prosecuting those who steal from federal benefits programs remains a top priority for the Department of Justice and my office," said Gregory Haanstad, United States attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. "We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to hold those, like Ms. Brown, who enrich themselves by defrauding COVID-19 benefit programs fully accountable.”
