While defrauding the government, the couple showed off luxury goods in Instagram posts that are still visible online.
. They used both their own personal information and stolen identities to file the claims. The couple conspired with Brandi Hawkins, a former contract employee for the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, who used her insider access to release the payments.
This conspiracy led to the fraudulent disbursement of at least $683,555, which the couple was ordered to pay in restitution on Wednesday, along with sentences of 97 months in federal prison for Richardson and 30 months for Taylor. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in 2021.
A Detroit couple was sentenced to federal prison time on Wednesday for their part in a multi-million-dollar scheme to steal funds earmarked for unemployment aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, a state audit revealed that Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency Office overpaid residents by about $3.9 billion due to mismanagement.Hawkins was sentenced in October 2021 to 58 months in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $3.
"At a time when thousands of people across Michigan were out of work because of the pandemic, these defendants were stealing benefits that should have gone to those trying to sustain their families," said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of theIn Instagram posts that have yet to be taken down, the couple flaunted big-ticket
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