Seattle area pair indicted for defrauding COVID-19 benefit programs for more than $1 million

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The two are charged with 16-point fraud charges against the Employment Security Department and the Small Business Administration.

SEATTLE – Two people from the Seattle area were charged Wednesday with more than $ 1 million in fraud in COVID-19 relief programs.

Bryan Sparks, 40, and Autumn Luna, 22, were charged on 16-point indictment of alleged fraud against the Washington State Employment Security Department of more than $ 500,000 and the Small Business Administration of approximately $ 520,000, according to the US Attorney General.

The two are in federal custody in Washington DC, where they were arrested in possession of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, according to prosecutors.

According to the indictment, the two used stolen information from more than 50 Washingtoners from March 2020 through at least January 2021 to apply for unemployment benefits. The benefits were loaded onto debit cards and mailed to addresses across the Seattle area. They also opened fraudulent bank accounts and withdrew services to these accounts, according to prosecutors.

According to the indictment, the couple also used the stolen identities to apply for loans under the Coronavirus Relief, Aid and Economic Security Act. The Small Business Administration paid them the proceeds of the $ 520,000 loan proceeds.

The two are charged with conspiracy, five-fold postal fraud, six-fold wire fraud, and four-fold aggravated identity theft.

An audit by the Washington Department of Occupational Safety and Health found that the state was severely affected by unemployment fraud in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state lost more than $ 600 million to unemployment fraud, the audit found.

In September, a former occupational safety officer was arrested on charges of defrauding the government of at least $ 360,000 in unemployment benefits.

The investigations into COVID-19-related service fraud are ongoing. In May, the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established to mobilize Justice Department resources to step up efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/seattle-area-pair-indicted-for-defrauding-covid-19-benefit-programs-for-more-than-1-million/281-c28e6194-9594-4d92-b209-35b4ce3cd020