A group of young Brooklyn men ripped off $2 million in COVID-19 relief funds by submitting fraudulent unemployment claims — and then stupidly posted pictures of themselves with their ill-gotten cash, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Six of the eight defendants — ranging in age from 18 to 25 — were charged in Brooklyn federal court, documents show.
Two of the suspects — Armani Miller, 24, and Johan Santos, 19 — are still at large.
Four of the alleged thieves foolishly flaunted their fortunes on social media, posting pictures of themselves with large piles of cash, according to the court documents.
The men stole personal information from people in the assistance program to obtain the unemployment benefits, prosecutors said.
Most of the benefits were funded by COVID-19 pandemic assistance programs, according to the feds.
The men allegedly funneled money meant for others in the program into their personal bank accounts, then withdrew the cash at branches in Brooklyn and Queens.
They were caught with a combined total of more than 100 Key Bank debit cards in other people’s names that they used to make large withdrawals from Capital One ATMs in Flatlands and various locations in eastern Queens, according to surveillance images and the court documents.
The suspects also carelessly used the same addresses and cellphone numbers for multiple false claims, the prosecutors said.
The scams began in June 2020 and continued through last month, according to the feds. It is unclear how the suspects allegedly stole the victims’ personal information.
The suspects arrested Tuesday are Byan Abraham, 18, Carlos Vazquez, 20, Angel Cabrera, 18, Gianni Stewart, 19, Andre Ruddock, 25, and Seth Golding, 18.
All eight defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit access-device fraud, prosecutors said.
“There is never an excuse to knowingly commit fraud and steal from a system that was designed to help New Yorkers in a time of need,” state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said.
“However, it’s even more despicable when these thieves steal a lifeline from New Yorkers in the midst of a public-health pandemic. We have no tolerance for criminals, and if you break the law, you will be held accountable.”
US Postal Service Inspector-in-Charge Philip Bartlett said, “Unfortunately, as the government rolled out various CARES Act programs, fraudsters were at the ready to take full advantage of these programs through a variety of fraud schemes, ripping off the American public of millions in taxpayer dollars and clogging the system for those who honestly are in need.”