Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A former U.S. Department of Labor employee has been indicted on charges of wire fraud related to the alleged fraudulent receipt of over $40,000 in pandemic unemployment assistance benefits.
Mo Yuong Kang, 50, who previously lived in Woburn and Dracut, Massachusetts, faces charges following an indictment announced by federal authorities in Boston. He is scheduled to appear in federal court at a later date.
According to the indictment, Kang worked as an Industrial Hygienist with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from June 2016 until July 2023. During 2020 and 2021, while employed full-time by the Department of Labor with annual earnings exceeding $86,000 each year, he allegedly submitted a false application for pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA) to the Division of Unemployment Assistance.
Prosecutors allege that Kang claimed he was self-employed or an independent contractor whose ability to work had been severely limited by COVID-19 and that he had not earned more than $89 per week since March 8, 2020. Based on these claims and subsequent weekly certifications stating he did not work or receive income during those periods, it is alleged that Kang received $45,868 in PUA benefits to which he was not entitled.
The charge of wire fraud carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge according to federal guidelines and statutes.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley stated: “The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.”
Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General for Investigations in the Northeast Region; Christopher Silvestro, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Northeast Field Office; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina E. Barclay are involved in prosecuting this case.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial help during the economic effects caused by COVID-19. The act established temporary programs like pandemic unemployment assistance for those not eligible for standard unemployment benefits. In Massachusetts, these benefits were administered by the Division of Unemployment Assistance.
