DETROIT (WWJ) -- Two Metro Detroiters are behind bars after pleading guilty to collecting more than a million dollars in fraudulent unemployment benefits.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said a Shelby Township woman, Mitchacole Johnson, and a Harper Woods man, Larry Witherspoon, were sentenced Wednesday for their role in the scheme. Federal investigators said the duo were a "pandemic-era Bonnie and Clyde" team.
Officials say Johnson, 45, and Witherspoon, 46, submitted at least 66 fraudulent claims in at least four states -- including Michigan -- and took in more than $1.3 million.
“These defendants exploited the current pandemic to defraud the State of Michigan and United States for their own personal gain. My office is committed to prosecuting any person who used the Covid-19 crisis to inflict more harm on the people of Michigan,” stated U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Authorities said Johnson filed a number of claims in her own name, while Witherspoon filed multiple claims in the names of people with similarities to his, such as “Lawrence Witherspoon.”
Both Johnson and Witherspoon filed their claims using other people’s social security numbers and had the benefits deposited into a variety of bank accounts, some connected to pre-paid debit cards.
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Federal prosecutors said the pair “seem to have been motivated primarily by vice and greed."
The benefits were used to purchase 37 designer handbags, 24 items of high-end jewelry. They also spent a "significant" amount of money on gambling.
"Both Defendants manipulated the unemployment insurance system and stole taxpayer dollars for their own personal benefit," said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Detroit Division.
After they both pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, Johnson will spend three years in prison, while Witherspoon will spend four.
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