U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man who previously worked as a claims specialist with the U.S. Social Security Administration admitted yesterday to acting as a courier for a Dominican Republic-based “grandparent scam” that targeted elderly Americans. Victor Anthony Valdez, 39, of the Bronx, New York, pleaded guilty…

United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles sentenced Eric Jason Schouest, age 53, of Plaquemine, Louisiana, to 30 months in federal prison following his convictions for embezzlement and bank fraud.  The Court further sentenced Schouest to serve two years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment…

Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on December 2, 2024, Maryann Manning, 63, of Wolcott, Vermont, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to two years of probation. Chief Judge Reiss also ordered Manning to pay restitution to the Social Security Administration in…

NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Joseph McKeon, aka “Jay McKeon,” 54, of Westfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in Newark federal court to…

HOUSTON – A 39-year-old legal permanent resident (LPR) from India has been sentenced for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Sohil Usmangani Vahora, Des Plaines, Illinois, pleaded guilty Oct. 23, 2023. U.S District Judge Andrew S. Hanen has now ordered him to serve 188 months in federal…

PORTLAND, Maine: A Berwick woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for Social Security fraud. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Suzanne Hercock, 47, to four years of probation and ordered her to pay $118,251 in restitution. Hercock pleaded guilty on May 24, 2024. According to court records, from about December 2008 to February…

LITTLE ROCK—Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced today that Roy David Lykins, 56, of Greenbrier, who fraudulently collected more than $249,000 from the Social Security Administration (SSA), was sentenced to 19 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller. Lykins was also sentenced to…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Harrisonville, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for Social Security fraud and for committing perjury when he testified at his trial. Michael Sylvara, 39, who currently lives and owns a business in Ozark, Mo., but lived in Harrisonville at the time of the offense, was sentenced by…

BOSTON – A Winthrop, Mass. man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for fraudulently obtaining a U.S. passport and then using it to enter the United States from Istanbul, Turkey in 2021.   Azem Gigo Zebic, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper to 18 months of probation, 100 hours…

RIVERSIDE, California – Two San Bernardino County residents were arrested today on a nine-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $2.1 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds by submitting more than 120 fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits using stolen identities, including those of California state prisoners. Lisa Puente, 43, of…