James G. Miller, Jr., a 53-year-old resident of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for wire fraud. The sentence was handed down by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani on February 28, 2025.
Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus stated that from February 2020 to January 2022, Miller collaborated with others to transfer $1,582,179 obtained through fraudulent means. These funds were acquired via Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Lost Wage Assistance Payments (LWAPs), and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) benefits. Miller's role involved acting as a money mule; he received small payments for using his mailing address and bank accounts to facilitate the transfer of these illicit funds overseas.
The investigation into this case was conducted by several agencies: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Office of Inspector General Departments of Labor (OIG-DOL) and Homeland Security (OIG-DHS), and the Office of Inspector General Social Security Administration (OIG-SSA). The prosecution was led by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd.
In response to pandemic-related fraud, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force on May 17, 2021. This task force aims to enhance efforts in combating such fraud by coordinating resources across government agencies to investigate and prosecute both domestic and international criminal actors involved in pandemic-related schemes.
For those with information regarding attempted COVID-19 fraud, reports can be made by contacting the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or through their web complaint form.
