Recently, a federal indictment charged David Godin, with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) and California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD) Unemployment Insurance (“UI”) benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been returned by a federal grand jury.
Godin was arrested in Florida by the law enforcement agencies and has had his initial appearance in the U.S District Court in Miami.
Allegations Against Godin: Wire Fraud and Identity Theft Charges
In the returned indictment, Godin faces allegations of creating disposable email addresses and using them to get fraudulent Unemployment Insurance claims from Maryland Department of Labour (MD-DOL) and the California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD). This constitutes wire fraud. A criminal act of fraud or an attempt to commit fraud with the aid of any form of electronic communication is classified as Wire Fraud.
The Unemployment Insurance Claims made by Godin using these Fraudulent Email addresses also contained false and fraudulent Information. This fake information in claims was reinforced by identifiable information of the identities of people from Maryland, California, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, and the Washington D.C.,. Field Office. This Constitutes as Identity theft and it portrays that Godin used the stolen Identity information to allegedly frame these identity theft victims.
Further Consequences: Potential Penalties and Confiscations Faced by Godin
If convicted in this trail, Godin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in Federal. This stems from the fact that Wire Fraud constitutes a federal offense. Due to Godin’s usage of Wire Fraud i.e. usage of emails to perform an act of deceit towards the Maryland Department of Labour and California Employment Development Department, he will be sentenced to federal prison if he’s convicted. He will receive 20 years for each count of wire fraud and a consecutive 2 year imprisonment for identity theft. Furthermore, if convicted, Godin will have to forfeit any property that he acquired from the scheme which he allegedly used to defraud the United States.
Formation of the Case
This Case is a part of the District of Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force. It is one of the Strike Forces that was established throughout the United States of America by the U.S Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute frauds committed during COVID-19 pandemic and any other frauds committed relating to Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the Americans suffering the effects of the economic decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The provisions in the Act were exploited by various individuals like the alleged perpetrator Godin, under fraudulent pretexts. The strike forces thus focus on large scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud committed by organizations and transnational individuals. These strike force teams are led by prosecutors, and driven by data analysts, that are designed to Identify and bring justice to those who committed the frauds.
Impact Of Insurance Frauds
This Fraud has a varied impact on many levels. The estimated cost of Insurance Fraud in the USA alone is close to 80 billion dollars in a year. These Heavy Costs are then passed down to consumers, as they have to then pay higher premiums to compensate the losses of these Insurance Corporations and Government aids. This also deters the goodwill of the Insurance system, which makes it difficult for honest claims to get fair settlements.
Reflections: Strengthening the Fight Against Fraud Through Public Awareness
The technological improvements and tighter legal frameworks are strengthening our stand against such frauds, but we must also not underestimate the need for public awareness. By understanding the varied impact of this fraud, we as people should orchestrate supportive efforts to combat fraud, by reporting fraudulent behavior whenever we encounter it.
