3 charged with unemployment fraud
Filed claims for pandemic assistance benefit
Three Northeast Side residents are facing charges in federal court in Columbus for allegedly filing fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment assistance.
The superseding indictment unsealed Friday morning is among the first direct charges made public in Ohio against individuals accused in what has become rampant pandemic-related unemployment fraud.
Ricco Maye, 38, Nicole Groves, 31, and Airrika Anthony, 32, are named in the 10-count indictment that includes a variety of drug trafficking counts along with the unemployment scheme. Maye, who has a lengthy local criminal record, was initially indicted in November on drug-related charges and has been in federal custody for several months.
The superseding indictment widened the case to include four other defendants, who investigators say participated in the illegal drug trafficking and unemployment fraud. Kevin Pearson, 57, also of the Northeast Side, is included in the drug-related counts but not the unemployment fraud charges. Investigators allege the
four distributed cocaine, fentanyl and other drugs, beginning in 2018. The indictment also alleges Maye, Groves and Anthony filed for and received federal pandemic unemployment assistance in Ohio and Michigan, falsely claiming they were out of work because of COVID-19. The indictment outlines more than $17,000 in assistance to Maye, $13,900 to Anthony and $11,800 to Groves.
Anthony also filed or helped others submit applications for unemployment assistance through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and opened bank accounts to received the payments, with Maye directing those involved to provide their personal information on the fraudulent state applications, according to documents. Unemployment fraud has been widespread during the pandemic, especially with programs created by the federal government to provide aid for those workers traditionally not eligible for benefits, including the self-employed and independent contractors.
Criminals around the world have been able to steal the identity of Americans and use that information to file claims for unemployment benefits. Many Ohioans didn’t realize claims had been made in their names until the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services began sending tax forms outlining benefits paid last year. The state agency issued 1.7 million of the forms, and many of the recipients did not file for or receive unemployment benefits. Officials have flagged upward of a million claims since the pandemic started as potentially fraudulent, requiring further verification before payments were issued, said Tom Betti, Ohio JFS spokesman.
“This is certainly welcome news,” Betti said of Friday’s superseding indictment. “Unemployment fraud and identity theft is a widespread national problem in every state and is under federal jurisdiction. ODJFS is committed to working with our federal partners to protect Ohioans and bring those committing unemployment fraud to justice.”
Ohio JFS set up a toll-free phone line (accessible on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 833-658-0394), and an online portal (unemployment.ohio.gov) for residents to report suspected unemployment fraud. mkovac@dispatch.com @Ohiocapitalblog