Former Social Security employee sentenced for $200K pandemic fraud
EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — A former Social Security employee was sentenced for frauding the government $200,000 worth of unemployment benefits through pandemic assistance.
According to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam, 47-year-old Takiyah Gordon Austin, 47, formerly of Wilkes Barre, was sentenced for fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits related to COVID-19 emergency relief funds.
From May 2020 to May 2021, Austin was a claims specialist with the Social Security Administration, and she filed Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims for recipients who did not meet the requirements in exchange for money.
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Investigators stated Austin filed claims while accessing SSA databases to get personal information from unsuspecting individuals and then diverted the unemployment funds to addresses she controlled to use the funds for her expenses.
Through the scheme, Austin defrauded the government of over $288,000.
Back in February 2023, Austin pleaded guilty to one count wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft
She has been sentenced to 36 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervision.
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