Federal prosecutors in Arizona have recovered more than $6.5 million in stolen taxpayer money linked to pandemic-era unemployment fraud, officials announced this week.
According to U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, the funds were secured through a court-ordered judgment in a civil asset forfeiture case following a multi-agency investigation into widespread fraud targeting pandemic relief programs.
The probe uncovered more than 2,000 fraudulent unemployment accounts created using stolen personal information and fake job records. These accounts, investigators said, were used to siphon funds distributed through federal programs such as the CARES Act, the Continued Assistance Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Payments were routed through the Arizona Department of Economic Security, then funneled into fraudulent bank accounts.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Secret Service led the effort, with support from the U.S. Marshals Service. The DOJ COVID Fraud Task Force—a national partnership targeting pandemic relief fraud—also played a key role.
To date, that task force has seized or forfeited more than $1.4 billion in fraud proceeds across the country.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Bozdech and LaTanya Wateland represented the federal government in the Arizona case, which officials said demonstrates the Department of Justice’s ongoing commitment to recovering taxpayer funds and holding pandemic fraudsters accountable.
