David Godin, a 34-year-old resident of Miami, Florida, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for his involvement in a COVID-19 unemployment insurance benefits fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox also imposed three years of supervised release following the prison term. Godin pled guilty to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft related to defrauding the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) and California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD). He is required to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $1,087,345.66 and restitution amounting to $1,137,894.56.
The sentencing was announced by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), and Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter from the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
According to court documents, between June 2020 and November 2023, Godin orchestrated a complex scheme using stolen personal information, anonymous email addresses, virtual private networks, and proxy servers to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims across multiple states from one location. This allowed him to bypass state UI program safeguards.
Godin submitted at least 140 fraudulent claims resulting in over $2.3 million in benefits from MD-DOL, CA-EDD, and other agencies. He acquired more than $1 million through this fraud which he used for luxury purchases such as cash stacks, expensive watches, and sports cars.
The case was part of efforts by the District of Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force—a division established by the U.S. Department of Justice focused on investigating large-scale pandemic relief frauds linked with the CARES Act.
U.S. Attorney Hayes acknowledged the investigative work conducted by DOL-OIG and IRS-CI while also thanking Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bijon A. Mostoufi and Jared Murphy for prosecuting the case with support from Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N Huber.
For further details about pandemic-related responses or reporting attempted COVID-19 frauds can be accessed via justice.gov/coronavirus or reported through the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721.
