Tracey Dotson, 49, from Detroit, was sentenced to 51 months for his role in a multi-state, million-dollar unemployment insurance fraud scheme.
Court documents revealed the scheme was aimed at defrauding the U.S. government and the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Maryland of funds earmarked for unemployment assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In the sentence handed down by United States District Judge Matthew F. Leitman, Dotson was ordered to pay more than $900,000 in restitution.
Court records revealed that Dotson and a co-defendant conspired to defraud the federal government and the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Maryland of roughly $1 million in funds intended to support individuals who had lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials said they committed their crimes through the use of interstate wires and the unauthorized possession and use of social security numbers and other means of identification belonging to different people.
The 49-year-old man pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April 2024.
Dotson and his co-defendant, using stolen personal identification, filed hundreds of false unemployment claims with state unemployment insurance agencies in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Maryland in the names of other individuals without their knowledge or consent.
Court documents revealed that Dotson and his co-defendant received hundreds of Bank of America prepaid debit cards in the names of individuals who were loaded with roughly $1 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds at addresses in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Dotson, his co-defendant, and their accomplices then successfully unloaded more than $930,000 from the cards via cash withdrawals and purchases that included high-end jewelry, designer fashion accessories by Gucci and Louis Vuitton, drugs, at least one vehicle, and at least one firearm.
