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“This fraud during the pandemic costs our country, and our state, billions of dollars. We will not stand for this in Queens County,” DA Katz said.
By Forum Staff
A Far Rockaway man has been indicted for allegedly filing unemployment claims under 13 different names to collect more than $150,000—benefits from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Thursday.
Keijohn Graham, 21, was arraigned on Thursday on a 68-count indictment charging him with grand larceny in the second degree, identity theft in the first degree, falsifying business records in the first degree, criminal possession of public benefit cards in the second degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree and offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree – related to the alleged fraudulent receipt of unemployment insurance benefits from the State of New York. Graham has been ordered to return to court on Nov. 30.
Photo Courtesy of Key Bank
Graham was arrested after law enforcement executed a court-authorized search warrant and seized numerous documents and credit cards, including 13 State Department of Labor benefit debit cards allegedly from Graham’s home.
According to the charges, the defendant was arrested in the early hours of March 23, 2021, after law enforcement executed a court-authorized search warrant and seized numerous documents and credit cards, including 13 State Department of Labor benefit debit cards allegedly from Graham’s home.
DA Katz said, a joint investigation allegedly revealed that the personal identifying information of 13 individuals—none of whom are the defendant, his family, or other residents of the Hanson Court residence—was used to file unemployment insurance claims with the State Department of Labor under the CARES Act. Between October 2020 and March 2021, Graham allegedly collected more than $150,000 in benefits.
“This health pandemic has been devastating and led to millions of Americans losing their jobs. As part of the CARES Act, Congress expanded who could receive much-needed unemployment benefits and authorized additional money to help those affected. As alleged, this defendant saw this additional support for the needy as an opportunity to fill his own pockets and filed unemployment claims in various names to collect more than $150,000 in benefits,” Katz said. “This fraud during the pandemic costs our country, and our state, billions of dollars. We will not stand for this in Queens County.”
If convicted, Graham faces up to 15 years in prison.
