David Godin, 34, a Miami man, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a $2.3 million scheme to defraud state unemployment insurance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced on Wednesday.
Known by multiple aliases, including “James St Patrick,” “David Wetty,” and “Vic Pro,” Godin admitted to submitting at least 140 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims using stolen identities. The fraudulent claims were filed with the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL), the California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD), and other state workforce agencies.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that Godin employed virtual private networks, anonymous email addresses, and proxy servers to evade fraud detection, allowing him to file multiple claims from a single location.
The scheme took place from June 2020 to November 2023, resulting in fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits totaling approximately $2.36 million. Godin personally collected $1,087,345.66 from the scheme.
As part of the agreement, Godin is required to pay restitution equal to the amount he received and forfeit any assets traceable to the fraud, including a money judgment of at least $1,087,345.
Godin faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud, along with a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for aggravated identity theft.
Anyone with information about suspected COVID-19 fraud is encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721.