West Virginia woman pleads guilty in $440,000 COVID unemployment fraud scheme
PN Team • 3 weeks ago
Leigh Ann Rinehart, 54, of Elkins, West Virginia, has pleaded guilty to bank fraud for her role in a scheme that funneled more than $440,000 in COVID-related unemployment benefits through her home address. Prosecutors said unemployment claims were filed in the names of people living in Nevada, California, New York and other states, none of whom resided in West Virginia or authorized Rinehart to use their benefits.
More than 24 Electronic Benefit Payment debit cards tied to the fraudulent claims were mailed to Rinehart's home between June 2020 and November 2022. She activated the cards, withdrew cash, purchased money orders and cryptocurrency, and passed funds or goods to others involved in the scheme. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Workforce West Virginia, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Conklin. It is part of the Justice Department's broader crackdown on pandemic-era benefit fraud under its new National Fraud Enforcement Division.
Sources:
Sentiment
- West Virginia West Virginia is the location of the fraud scheme and the defendant's residence, linking the state to a criminal case though not implicating the state itself.
- California California is mentioned only as a state where fraud victims' identities were used, a tangential factual reference.
- Nevada Nevada is mentioned only as a state where fraud victims' identities were used, a tangential factual reference.
- New York (state) New York is mentioned only as a state where fraud victims' identities were used, a tangential factual reference.