CHICAGO – A federal grand jury indicted a former employee of a state subcontractor accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $4.6 million in COVID-era unemployment insurance benefits for herself and hundreds of others.
Andrea Wellington, 35, is facing 21 federal wire fraud charges related to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, one of the sources of relief available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act. The indictment was returned last month in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Also named in the complaint is co-defendant Randall Easley, 38, who joined Wellington in 14 of the wire fraud charges. The pair are both from Chicago.
In April 2020, early in the pandemic, the Illinois Department of Employment Security entered into a contract with "Company 1" to hire and train staff to assist in handling calls related to unemployment applications and claims filed with IDES. To fulfill the requirements of its state contract, "Company 1" subcontracted with "Company 2."
Federal prosecutors said Wellington was hired in July 2021 by Company 2 as a customer service representative for IDES. She was responsible for handling calls from unemployment insurance applicants, addressing their concerns, and transferring calls to other departments.
Company 2 terminated Wellington's employment in October 2021. Soon after she was dismissed, federal prosecutors said Wellington, along with Easley and other unknown persons, participated in a scheme to defraud the government and enrich themselves in connection with PUA funds.
Part of the scheme involved Wellington, working under the alias "Tasha St. Patrick," and Easley, under the alias "R.R.," accessing the IDEA PUA System and modifying the wage histories of approximately 471 PUA applicants, the feds said. It was further alleged that following her termination, Wellington recruited others to recruit PUA applicants to fudge their salary histories in exchange for a kickback.
Between Oct. 20 and Nov. 12, 2021, federal prosecutors said Wellington hacked into the IDES PUA System and increased her wage history three times from $16,716 to $23,113 to $48,284, and finally $71,412. As a result, Wellington received two PUA payouts totaling $13,289, according to the complaint.
During the same period, federal prosecutors said Wellington accepted $5,820 in exchange for accessing into the IDES system and increasing the wage history of applicant N.W. from $4,300 to $45,824 and then to $83,380, resulting in a payout to N.W. of $18,225.
She is also alleged to have tapped into the IDES system to fraudulently increase Easley's wages from $76 to $69,380, resulting in an IDES payment, federal prosecutors said.
At least 21 times, Wellington, sometimes joined by Easley, the federal complaint detailed multiple phony modifications made to PUA applicants' wage histories, using servers outside Illinois. Wellington and Easley were arraigned in federal court on Oct. 8 and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. A status hearing is set for Oct. 23 before U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo.
The U.S. Department of Justice created the National Fraud Enforcement Program this past April, whose core mission is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. The Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse within federal benefit programs.
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