U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko | U.S. Department of Justice
Darmani Hawkins, a 21-year-old from Aurora, Ohio, has been sentenced to five years in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent. Hawkins pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and mail theft. These charges stemmed from schemes aimed at fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic and stealing checks from the mail for personal gain. In addition to his prison sentence, Hawkins must pay $681,114.14 in restitution and will serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
Court documents revealed that between 2020 and 2021, Hawkins conspired with others to submit false claims for unemployment insurance benefits under the CARES Act. This act was designed to support those who lost jobs due to COVID-related shutdowns. The fraudulent applications were submitted across multiple states, leading to the issuance of debit cards loaded with unemployment benefits which were then used by Hawkins and his associates.
In a separate scheme conducted in 2023, Hawkins recruited postal workers via social media platforms to steal checks from the U.S. Postal Service in exchange for payment. He also paid individuals to use their bank accounts for depositing these stolen checks. Once deposited, Hawkins accessed these funds for withdrawal or personal receipt.
U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko stated: “Mr. Hawkins shamelessly exploited federal resources intended to help those who became unemployed as a result of an uncontrollable, life-changing world event...Those like Mr. Hawkins...will be held to account and brought to justice.”
Lesley Allison of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Pittsburgh Division emphasized that "the sentencing of Mr. Hawkins should send a strong message" against deceiving government programs meant for public assistance during crises.
The investigation revealed losses amounting to approximately $425,000 from the COVID fraud scheme and over $700,000 from the check theft scheme.
This case was investigated by several agencies including the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, and FBI Cleveland Division with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorney Erica Barnhill.
To report fraud related activities visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/unemployment-insurance-payment-accuracy/UIFraudReporting or https://www.uspis.gov/report.
