DC Man Sentenced For Fraudulent Coronavirus PPE Scheme

WASHINGTON, DC — A District man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 36 months of incarceration for fraudulently selling personal protective equipment (PPE) and filing a fraudulent tax refund request and class action settlement claims, according to a U.S. Justice Department release.

Craven Randall Casper, 38, pleaded guilty on March 12 to mail fraud and then on July 14, to wire fraud. Tuesday's sentencing by Judge Amit Mehta was a consolidation of the two separate prosecutions into one proceeding. Casper was placed on three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $235,807.11 in restitution to the victims of his crimes.

Between February and March, Casper created an online site where he advertised the sale of PPE related to the coronavirus pandemic. He failed to provide PPE for the majority of his paying customers, stealing at least $3,800.45, according to government evidence.

In connection with the mail fraud charge, Casper obtained personally identifiable information (PII) from taxpayers around the country and filed false state tax income returns, which included refund claims, according to the government's evidence. From those actions, he was able to fraudulently obtain about 47 refund checks between February 2018 and July 2019, amounting to approximately $197,518.82. In some cases, Casper used the same PIIs to open bank accounts to help with his scheme. Between December 2017 and Feb. 15, 2018, Casper also negotiated at least 120 fraudulently-obtained class action settlement checks, totaling approximately $34,487.84.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case, with help from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Sedky and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Marando prosecuted the case. Victim Witness Coordinator Tonya Jones and Victim Witness Program Specialist Yvonne Bryant, both of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, provided assistance.