Paris Lashay Haynes, a former employee of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC), has pled guilty to wire fraud, as announced by Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis. The 28-year-old from Baton Rouge appeared before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles to enter her plea.
Haynes admitted that between April 2020 and March 2021, while employed as a customer service representative at the LWC, she devised a scheme to defraud the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. This program was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which expanded unemployment benefits for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using her credentials to access the LWC's HiRE system from Texas and other locations, Haynes manipulated claimant accounts by altering usernames, passwords, and email addresses. She redirected PUA benefits to her own bank accounts or those under her control by changing payment preferences in these accounts. Additionally, she filed false weekly certifications in claimants' names to facilitate fund transfers.
Haynes also submitted fraudulent PUA applications in her name from March 2021 through June 2022, falsely claiming unemployment due to COVID-19 despite being terminated for misconduct.
The investigation revealed that Haynes accessed around forty claimant accounts during her scheme, resulting in over $200,000 in misappropriated PUA benefits.
The Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General is investigating this case with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen Lundin Craig.
