Fraudulent COVID-19 Unemployment Claims Earn Tampa Woman Prison Time

TAMPA, FL — A 39-year-old Tampa woman will spend three years in federal prison after she pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft related to COVID-19 unemployment insurance benefits.

U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced Rolanda Wingfield to prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft Monday and ordered her to pay $135,576 in restitution to the various state workforce agencies she defrauded. Wingfield pleaded guilty on April 26.

According to court documents, from May through September 2020, Wingfield obtained the personal identity information of other people that she used to submit fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to various state workforce agencies.

These unemployment insurance benefits were then transferred to bank accounts or loaded onto debit cards issued in various names that Wingfield withdrew money from at ATMs.

The U.S. Department of Labor determined that Wingfield obtained $135,576.

In March 2020, the president signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which expanded states’ ability to provide unemployment benefits for workers impacted by COVID-19, including workers who were not ordinarily eligible for benefits.

After learning that many people were obtaining these funds illegally, on May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.