Zachary T. Lee Acting United States Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia
Josef Ludwig Brown has been sentenced to 35 months in federal prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to defraud the United States through fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims. Brown pled guilty to charges of defrauding the United States in relation to emergency benefits. He is also required to pay $119,660 in restitution.
The conspiracy included 17 individuals, with previous sentences handed to several conspirators. Christopher Webb received a 20-month sentence, Russell Stiltner 24 months, Jessica Lester 19 months, Cara Camille Bailey 19 months, Justin Meadows 18 months, and Terrence Vilacha 18 months. Others, including Joseph Hass, Stephanie Amber Barton, Clinton Michael Altizer, Jeramy Blake Farmer, and Hayleigh McKenzie Wolfe, received varying sentences ranging from 12 months and 1 day up to 27 months.
Jonathan Webb, involved in recruiting others, was sentenced to 48 months and ordered to pay $150,218 in restitution. The scheme involved using personal identification information from inmates and acquaintances to file fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment benefits, resulting in the theft of $341,205 in pandemic relief funds.
The investigation was led by the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Task Force. Virginia alone paid approximately $1.1 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, according to the United States Department of Labor.
The sentences were announced by Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee and other officials. Agencies involved in the investigation included Dickenson County Sheriff’s Office, Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority, FBI, U.S. Department of Labor, and Virginia Employment Commission.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Suzanne Kerney-Quillen and Assistant United States Attorney Danielle Stone are handling the prosecution.
