Guilty plea in pandemic fraud
Rensselaer County men bilked system of jobless benefits
ALBANY — Two Rensselaer County men pleaded guilty Monday to taking part in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $100,000 in unemployment insurance benefits under the names of other people — including money from federal programs launched in response to the COVID -19 pandemic.
Taquan Parker, 26, of Rensselaer and Olajuwon Sutherland, 27, of Troy pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy and mail fraud. Sutherland also pleading guilty to wire fraud.
Parker admitted that he provided a third man, Kahleke Taylor, with the personal identifying information of two other people that Taylor used to file false claims online with the state Department of Labor that netted the men $60,132 in unemployment insurance benefits. As part of his plea, Parker agreed to pay $60,132 in restitution to the state and forfeit $30,000 in fraud proceeds.
Sutherland admitted that he also provided Taylor with similar information of two other people that Taylor used to obtain $48,008 in fraudulent benefits. Sutherland agreed to pay that sum in restitution to the state and forfeit $12,000 in fraud proceeds.
Taylor pleaded guilty in August to obtaining $207,004 in fraudulent unemployment benefits as part of the scheme.
Parker and Sutherland, who were indicted in February 2022, face a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when they’re sentenced in July.
The news release announcing Monday’s guilty pleas credited a range of agencies, from the office of U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman and the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations to the office state Inspector General Lucy Lang, the regional inspector general for the federal Department of Labor and the Boston Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The U.S. Attorney General established a COVID -19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in 2021 specifically to organize federal and state resources to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
The Times Union reported extensively on the state Labor Department’s response to the overwhelming demands for unemployment benefits in the early months of the pandemic, and how New York’s efforts to address a historic backlog led the agency to curtail certain safeguards against fraud.
A November audit from the office of state Comptroller Tom Dinapoli concluded that the agency’s failures led to billions in fraudulent payments being doled out.