A Baltimore man has been sentenced to 54 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor through fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. Duane Watts, 46, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin and will also serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Watts participated in a conspiracy from May 2020 through at least May 2021 that involved using personal information from multiple victims—including individuals with mental or cognitive impairments—to submit false unemployment claims. The financial losses exceeded $167,000.
“Watts engaged in a conspiracy to defraud and obtain money through materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises in connection with the UI scheme,” according to the defendant’s guilty plea. He used personal identifiable information of real people “to cause the submission of false and fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.”
Authorities said that Watts and his co-conspirators used funds meant for unemployed or underemployed individuals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic for their own benefit. One vulnerable victim whose identity was stolen later lost her job but could not access needed benefits due to the fraud.
Judge Rubin previously sentenced two co-defendants: Tiia Woods received 74 months and Devante Smith was given 57 months for their roles in the same conspiracy.
The case is part of efforts led by federal strike forces established by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate COVID-19 relief fraud schemes across several states. These strike forces are interagency law enforcement teams focused on prosecuting large-scale pandemic relief fraud involving criminal organizations.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced the sentencing along with officials from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.
“The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to information released about federal efforts against pandemic-related fraud schemes.
Anyone with information about attempted COVID-19 fraud can contact authorities via hotline at 866-720-5721 or file an online complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Hayes commended investigators from DOL-OIG and FBI for their work on this case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys John M. D’Amico and Harry M. Gruber who prosecuted it.
Further resources on reporting fraud are available at www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
