COVID-19 hasn’t kept opportunists at bay, instead it spawned its own special breed – The Boston Globe
Federal investigators, however, tracked the shipping address to a duplex in Quincy.
The tragic trifecta of a national health crisis, heightened unemployment, and a crushing economic downturn hasn’t kept opportunists at bay. Instead, it has seemingly spawned its own special breed, court filings show.
The US Attorney’s Office has noticed.
US Attorney Andrew Lelling hired a special prosecutor devoted to unemployment fraud, and his office is combining efforts with the Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery to crack down on fraud related to the CARES Act.
“The pandemic has not altered the overall focus of the office, but we have prioritized investigating illegal conduct stemming from the pandemic itself,” said Elizabeth McCarthy, a spokeswoman for Lelling.
Just last week, federal prosecutors announced the arrest of a Worcester couple whom they say lied on at least three applications for economic injury disaster loans and then paid rent, made credit-card payments, and funneled the money to Ghana.
Lucy and Richard Oworae, 56 and 59, received $194,700 in stimulus loans, according to a criminal complaint.
The alleged fraudsters in Massachusetts have been all over the map, from Malden to New Bedford, Chicopee to Winchester.
Among the alleged scams and schemers uncovered by federal agents are a landlord accused of preying on single moms, a worker at a state unemployment office who allegedly approved benefits for her jailed husband, and Jiule Lin, the Quincy man who peddled the “sanitation disinfectant cards” that promised to ward off viruses.
Lin sold fewer than 20 of the “Virus Shut Out” devices between March and April, according to a search warrant affidavit. His customers lived in California, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio. Court filings did not disclose their identities.
Lin, 38, has been charged with selling an unregistered pesticide, a criminal violation under US environmental protection law.
Lin pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge on Dec. 17 and is awaiting sentencing on April 15. He faces a maximum of a year in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Much of the CARES Act fraud in Massachusetts has been related to unemployment benefits. The federal law, enacted March 29, 2020, stands for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. It was designed to provide emergency financial aid to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the pandemic.
Clients of a Cambridge realty company had their identities stolen by a Malden man who applied for unemployment benefits under at least one of their names, according to an affidavit.
Wagner Sozi, 32, lived with someone who worked at the realty company. The affidavit did not identify the company by name. Court records indicate that Sozi may enter into a plea agreement.
One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to help them pull through the tough times. Congress later authorized another $300 billion.
A Winchester man who owns an information technology services company lied about payroll expenses on at least four loan applications for COVID-19 relief, according to federal prosecutors.
Elijah Maja Buoi, 38, sought more than $13 million and already had received more than $2 million, a complaint said. Federal agents seized about $1.98 million from Buoi’s business accounts.
Federal prosecutors took a totally different tack when faced with a 79-year-old landlord in Chicopee who was allegedly extorting sexual favors from struggling single moms.
Lelling’s Office filed a lawsuit against Salazar dos Santos on Dec. 7 accusing him of violating the federal Fair Housing Act.
“The female tenants understand defendant dos Santos’s actions to be an implied offer of sex for late rent or a rent installment plan,” court documents said.
Dos Santos manages eight properties, with a total of about 40 rental units, owned by two family trusts that can be held liable for dos Santos’s conduct, according to court documents.
And then there’s the woman who lived in New Bedford while working for the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance while her husband was in jail in Texas.
Investigators say Tiffany Pacheco altered unemployment claims for herself and Arthur Pacheco, 47, to increase their benefits.
Tiffany Pacheco, 35, went into the computer system in June and allegedly increased the couple’s 2019 income from zero to more than $240,000 and upped their number of dependents from none to seven, the affidavit said.
She had served a federal prison sentence for aggravated identity theft prior to getting hired in April at the unemployment office.
Arthur Pacheco was freed from incarceration in Texas on Sept. 4.
The Pachecos were arrested last month in Texas.
When investigators searched the couple’s New Bedford apartment in September they found $17,000 cash and a slew of evidence indicating identification theft, including a laminator, hologram overlays, and 649 sheets of blank checks.
Tiffany and Arthur Peacheco each face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at [email protected] or 617-929-1579. Follow her on Twitter @talanez.