A Bath, Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud related to pandemic unemployment assistance and schemes targeting local car dealerships. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Justin Heimbach, 34, entered his plea before United States District Judge John M. Younge.
Heimbach was indicted in August 2024 on six counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud. The charges stem from actions that began after Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in March 2020. The CARES Act established the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program to provide benefits to individuals not eligible for standard unemployment compensation.
Court documents show that Heimbach operated TeamKJ Construction and submitted fraudulent PUA applications using names of people who were allegedly no longer employed due to COVID-19. The applications included false statements about job loss and employment dates linked to the pandemic.
Additionally, authorities said Heimbach defrauded several Lehigh Valley car dealerships by purchasing vehicles under other construction company names associated with him. He wrote checks from accounts that did not have enough funds to complete these transactions.
Heimbach is scheduled for sentencing on June 11, 2026.
The investigation involved the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency. Assistant United States Attorney S. Chandler Harris is prosecuting the case.
"This case was jointly investigated by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney S. Chandler Harris," according to a statement from federal prosecutors.
