DETROIT (WWJ) – A pair of Metro Detroit siblings are facing charges for an alleged pandemic fraud scheme that saw them and two others steal more than $3.5 million by filing over 700 false unemployment insurance claims.
Kenny Lee Howard III, 30, and his sister, 34-year-old Keila Lanae Howard, are two of four people charged in a criminal complaint announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison.
Also charged are David Christopher Davis, 25, and Stevenvan Eugene Ware, 30. Authorities did not release any of the defendants’ hometowns, but said the Howards are from the Detroit area.
The scheme targeted “funds set aside for unemployment assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic,” officials said.
The Howards and the two other defendants allegedly filed more than 700 unemployment insurance claims in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, New York, Kansas, Maryland, Tennessee, Hawaii, and Guam.
In some instances, the defendants allegedly used their own names to file claims for pandemic unemployment assistance in multiple states.
But in other instances they would use stolen IDs to file fraudulent claims.
In total, they allegedly stole $3.5 million in government funds over the course of their scheme, according to Ison’s office.
“This alleged scheme diverted money away from American workers in need of financial relief during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ison said, per a press release.
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