By Alex Lloyd Gross
To collect unemployment benefits, a person must be out of work and be available for work in case work becomes available. That is the law. You cannot be available for work if you are in jail or prison. That fact did not stop several inmates locally at SCI Phoenix from trying to collect benefits. They were caught and now face significant jail time, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. Individuals who apply for emergency unemployment benefits when they are employed or incarcerated are breaking federal and state law. Individuals found to be involved with organized efforts to obtain emergency unemployment benefits illegally can face significant prison time and financial penalties. In some instances, like the arrests today, ringleaders of these schemes can face over 60 years, and their co-conspirators can face well over 40 years.
Other people had a ring of fraud, with people outside of prison filing for benefits for people who were incarcerated. The Attorney General announced a sweeping investigation that involved 20 more inmates, in every area of the state. Locally, those inmates include:
Inmates at SCI Phoenix who applied for fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment benefits include:
Jermaine Plumer: Received $18,264.00 worth of PUA paid out after he provided personal identifying information to non-incarcerated individuals.
Rafael Rodriguez: Received $22,109.00 worth of PUA paid out after he provided personal identifying information to non-incarcerated individuals.
Dwayne Washington: Received $3,510.00 worth of PUA paid out after he provided personal identifying information to a non-incarcerated individual.
Leroy Barnes: Was never paid, but did provide his personal identifying information to a non-incarcerated individual to have them complete a PUA application on his behalf.
Andrew Simms: Was never paid, but did provide his personal identifying information to a non-incarcerated individual to have them complete a PUA application on his behalf.
Dexter Pitts a/k/a Kevin Perry: Received $3,150.00 worth of PUA paid out after he provided his personal identifying information to a non-incarcerated individual.