Union Man Admits Stealing $450K In Unemployment Benefits

UNION, NJ — A Union man admitted that he illegally stole more than $450,000 in unemployment insurance benefits, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Maurice Mills, 29, of Union, pleaded guilty by videoconference to an information charging him with wire fraud.

Between August and September of 2020, Mills submitted unemployment insurance benefitsapplications to the State of New York using the names of other people. As a result, the applications were approved and Mills got more than $450,000, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.

This money was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) which created a new temporary federal unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), to offer unemployment insurance benefits (UIB) for individuals who were not eligible for other types of unemployment.

Mills could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross profits or loss suffered by the victims, whichever is greatest for the charge of wire fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2022.

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