Chesco Woman Stole $47K In Pandemic Relief Funds: Feds

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — A West Chester woman has been sentenced to prison for stealing tens of thousands in pandemic relief funds, federal authorities announced recently.

Emily Baier, 28, will spend the next 14 months behind bars for abusing the CARES Act, United States District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno ruled. She also faces five years of probation upon release.

Her co-conspirator, Jacob Fulton, 33, of Coatesville, was sentenced earlier in December to 1.5 years behind bars for his role in the scheme.

Fulton, who was an inmate at the time, and Baker filed fraudulent claims for themselves on behalf of inmates at Chester County Prison, despite the fact that she knew they were ineligible, authorities said.

In May 2020, Baier filed a claim stating that she was unemployed due to the pandemic, even submitting fake weekly "certifications" of her employment status, authorities said.

“Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds are intended to help working Americans continue to pay their bills and make ends meet, even when hours and wages have dropped dramatically due to the pandemic,” U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. “Thieves who attempt to take these funds unlawfully are taking advantage of others’ misfortune – ripping them off while also ripping off all taxpayers who fund the program. Baier fraudulently obtained thousands of dollars in funds that could have helped struggling individuals.”

Baier had pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud in September.