NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A former New Jersey postal worker pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiring to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits, according to the Department of Justice.
Ross Clayton, 31, of Irvington, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy.
Clayton was a United States Postal Service employee who took unemployment insurance benefits-related mail, including debit cards, from a USPS location in New Jersey and used it to obtain unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled, according to court statements and documents.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The law created a new temporary federal unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provided unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who were not eligible for other types of unemployment (the self-employed, independent contractors and gig economy workers).
The CARES Act also created a new temporary federal program called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (FPUC) that provided an additional $600 weekly benefit to those eligible for PUA and regular unemployment insurance benefits.
The charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross profits made by Stokes, or twice the gross loss suffered by the victims.
Clayton is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 7.
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