Ohio Woman Sentenced to 6 Months in Federal Prison After Filing False CARES Act Claims to Steal More than $200,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Benefits

INDIANAPOLIS- Brianna Yerkey, 21, of Struthers, Ohio, has been sentenced to 6 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud.

According to court documents, beginning in February 2021, and continuing through June 2021, Brianna Yerkey intentionally defrauded the federal government and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (IDWD) by exploiting the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funding authorized by the CARES Act.

Specifically, Yerkey used Facebook and Snapchat to advertise to perspective clients that she would file Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) applications on their behalf and prepare and submit their weekly PUA vouchers in exchange for a fee of between $500 and $1,300. Yerkey instructed perspective clients to establish an online account with IDWD and provide her with the username and password so she could log in to their accounts. 

As part of the scheme, Yerkey provided false and fraudulent information regarding the applicant’s residential address, employment, unemployment, and whether the applicant was presently residing in Indiana. Yerkey also falsely stated that their unemployment was connected to the COVID-19 pandemic to obtain unemployment benefits from the IDWD to which her clients were not entitled. 

Yerkey attempted to conceal her crimes by providing details in the PUA applications that would create the false impression the applicants were university students in Indiana. Yerkey intentionally used university addresses and employment dates that would align with summer school break so that IDWD would not suspect fraud if the applicant provided an out of state driver’s license for proof of identity.

In total, Yerkey submitted false and fraudulent claims to the IDWD totaling approximately $287,311 in unemployment benefits.

“Pandemic Unemployment Assistance under the CARES Act was a lifeline for thousands of Americans suffering economic disaster directly related to COVID-19,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers. “Ms. Yerkey exploited a federal program, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to help our most vulnerable populations in a time of instability. These selfish, greedy actions must be rectified. I am grateful for the work of the FBI that led to today’s sentence.”

“People in desperate need turned to the defendant for help, and she pocketed that money,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “The FBI and our partners won’t idly sit by and let schemes like this occur but will relentlessly pursue those who fraudulently profit at the expense of others.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge, Matthew P. Brookman. Judge Brookman also ordered that Yerkey be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 1 year following her release from federal prison and pay $125,271 in restitution. 

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany J. Preston, who prosecuted this case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID‑19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID‑19  can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

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