A Westwego woman has been sentenced for her role in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud by defrauding state unemployment insurance offices. According to Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson, Reha Janee Arvie, 35, was sentenced on November 19, 2025, after being found guilty of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
Court documents indicate that starting around July 2020, Arvie orchestrated a scheme to submit approximately 100 fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) applications across several states. She recruited friends and family through Facebook to participate in the scheme and filed fraudulent claims on behalf of herself and others in states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Utah, Texas, and Guam. Arvie charged fees between $1,200 and $1,500 for each claim she filed. The investigation revealed that she obtained $267,612 in UI benefits from California’s Employment Development Department alone. During the investigation process, Arvie also provided false information to federal agents.
United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced Arvie to fifty-two months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered her to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
The case is part of broader efforts by the Department of Justice to address pandemic-related fraud. In May 2021, the Attorney General created the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to coordinate resources across government agencies and enhance investigations into pandemic relief fraud schemes. More details about these efforts can be found at https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
According to a statement included in the announcement: “The PRAC was established to promote transparency and facilitate coordinated oversight of the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRAC’s 20 member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending, including spending via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. This case was also supported by the PRAC’s Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence, which applies the latest advances in analytic and forensic technologies to help OIGs and law enforcement pursue data-driven pandemic relief fraud investigations.”
Individuals with information regarding attempted COVID-19-related fraud are encouraged to report it through the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or its online complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledged support from multiple agencies during this case's investigation: U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General; Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General; National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force; Pandemic Response Accountability Committee; U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General COVID Fraud Unit; and California Employment Development Department. Assistant United States Attorney Brian M. Klebba led prosecution as Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit.
