WASHINGTON (WSV) — A federal jury in Albany, Ga., convicted Malcolm Jeffrey, 34, of Cordele, Ga., Friday for his participation in a scheme to defraud the Georgia Department of Labor (GaDOL) out of millions of dollars in benefits meant to assist unemployed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti with the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said schemes like this are all too common and the Criminal Division is resolved to bringing the fraudsters to justice. “The defendant and his co-conspirators orchestrated a scheme where they used stolen identities to submit fraudulent unemployment claims in order to steal millions of dollars of funds intended for the benefit of unemployed Americans.”

Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPIS-OIG) reinforced their dedication to holding individuals who exploit federal relief programs for personal gain accountable. “As proven in this case, our criminal investigators along with our law enforcement partners will work together and diligently pursue anyone who attempts to exploit programs created to help legitimate people and businesses affected by the global pandemic.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jeffrey and his co-conspirators caused more than approximately 7,000 fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims to be filed with the GaDOL, resulting in more than $16 million in stolen benefits.

To execute the scheme, Jeffrey and his co-conspirators made up lists of purported employees using personally identifiable information from hundreds of identity theft victims and filed fraudulent UI claims on the GaDOL website under his defunct business. After Jeffrey opened an account to file UI claims through GaDOL’s website for purported employees, thousands of claims were submitted through his employer account, which caused more than $16 million in fraudulent UI benefits to be disbursed. The stolen UI funds were then distributed to Jeffrey and his co-conspirators via prepaid debit cards mailed to various locations in the vicinity of Cordele.

The jury convicted Jeffrey of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.