Chester County man sentenced for stealing pandemic funds

Jacob Fulton, 33, of Coatesville was sentenced to one year and six months in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay full restitution by United States District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno for falsely claiming and taking approximately $32,000 in pandemic unemployment compensation authorized by the CARES Act.

On March 27, 2020, the CARES ACT was enacted and created the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (“PUA”) program, to provide unemployment benefits to workers who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic and who were ineligible for other unemployment compensation. The defendant took advantage of the program by unlawfully submitting fraudulent PUA claims for himself and for inmates of Chester County Prison, knowing that neither he nor these inmates were entitled to these benefits.

In May 2020, Fulton filed an unemployment claim for himself knowing that he was not eligible for such benefits because he was not unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. After Fulton was arrested and sent to Chester County Prison in July 2020, he continued to submit weekly certifications that he was eligible for these benefits (with the aid of his co-defendant), all while knowing that he was not eligible for these benefits because he was in prison.

At the same time, Fulton conspired to file unemployment claims on behalf of at least two other inmates and take a cut of the claim payments for himself. In August 2021, the defendant pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud stemming from the scheme to file false unemployment claims for himself and others.

“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,” said U.S. Attorney Jennifer Williams. “Thieves who attempt to take these funds are taking advantage of others’ misfortune — ripping them off while also ripping off all taxpayers who fund the program. Fulton fraudulently obtained thousands of dollars in funds that could have helped struggling individuals.”

“The CARES ACT was designed to provide assistance to hard-working Americans and their families suffering from financial hardships. Today’s sentence sends the message that the FBI is committed to protecting taxpayer-funded programs and will aggressively investigate fraudsters like Fulton and his fellow inmates who seek to abuse such programs,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.

“Fulton thought he could get rich at the expense of Americans who desperately needed the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty. “His sentence today shows just how much such criminal conduct will not be tolerated. Those contemplating similar conduct should take notice”