The defendant allegedly received over 67,000 U.S. dollars in pandemic unemployment funds while working and receiving a full-time salary
Boston, Massachusetts – A man from Taunton was arrested on 19th October 2021 in connection with the alleged filing of false Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims and making false statements in support of an application for a residential mortgage.
Clark Grant, age 38, was charged with a single count of wire fraud and a single count of making false statements on a loan and credit application. Grant made an initial appearance in Boston in the afternoon of 19th October 2021 before United States Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein.
Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March 2020 in response to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The Act established a temporary federal unemployment benefits program known as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which the Department of Unemployment Assistance administers in Massachusetts. This program provides unemployment insurance for individuals who are ineligible for other types of unemployment assistance.
Charging documents alleges that, between about May 2020 and September 2021, Grant fraudulently applied for and received approximately 67,950 U.S. dollars in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds while at the same time he was working full-time and collecting a salary. Additionally, between May 2021 and July 2021, Grant allegedly lied to a mortgage lender to obtain approximately 410,000 U.S. dollars in a residential mortgage.
The wire fraud charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years of imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of 250,000 U.S. dollars. The indictment of making falsified statements on a loan and credit application has a penalty of up to 30 years of imprisonment, up to five years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of 1 million U.S. dollars. A U.S. district court judge imposes sentences based upon the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Massachusetts Inspector General Glenn A. Cunha; Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone of the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigation; Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward of the United States Postal Inspection Service; and Special Agent in Charge Joleen D. Simpson of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. The Police Department in Taunton provided valuable assistance. Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Deitch and Dustin Chao of Mendell’s Criminal Division are handling the prosecution.
The information detailed in the charging documents is merely accusations. The defendant remains innocent until and unless found guilty beyond a doubt in a court of law.
On 17th May 2021, the AG (Attorney General) formed the COVID-19 FETF (Fraud Enforcement Task Force) to gather together the resources of the Justice Department in collaboration with agencies across the U.S. government to boost efforts to fight and stop pandemic-linked fraud. The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force bolsters efforts to inquire and litigate the most liable domestic and global criminal actors and helps agencies responsible for administering Covid-related relief programs to stop fraud by, amongst other methods, incorporating and augmenting in place coordination mechanisms, pinpointing out techniques and resources to expose criminal actors and their plots, and sharing and utilizing data and insights acquired from past enforcement efforts.
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