Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Richard Walker, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and Jesse Panuccio, Executive Director, State of Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, announce the return of a 21-count indictment charging Guy Robert Nalien, 26, of North Miami, Florida, with wire fraud, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in unemployment benefits scheme.
According to the indictment, Nalien utilized the personal identification of others to falsely represent to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Unemployment Compensation Program that such individuals were unemployed and eligible to obtain Florida unemployment compensation benefits. The indictment further alleges that Nalien received the fraudulently obtained benefits for his own personal use.
If convicted, Nalien faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of mail fraud and wire fraud, followed by three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution, and a consecutive two years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations and the State of Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Lanigan.
An indictment is only an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
