NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Two men were sentenced in Norfolk for running a scheme to obtain COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits while at least one was already in prison.
37-year-old Raton J. Tharp was an inmate at Wallens Ridge State Prison in Virginia and gave personal information of fellow inmates in order to operate the scheme. Tharp gave this information to his co-conspirator on the outside, 31-year-old George Napoleon Cuffee Jr.
Cuffee then used the information provided to make applications for benefits in these inmates’ name. Cuffee also provided false information in the applications including: false addresses, telephone numbers, email accounts and last employers.
In addition to the scheme with Tharp, Cuffee also unlawfully obtained and used the information of six non-inmates. The individuals had no knowledge of this scheme.
From Aug. 12, 2020 to Oct. 28, 2020 Cuffee was incarcerated at the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office Correctional Center. During that time, some of his associates on the outside continued recertifying the fraudulent claims to ensure the payments were uninterrupted.
Cuffee also filed his own false unemployment claim, stating that his occupation of a “real estate broker,” prevented him from working during the pandemic. For his own claim, Cuffee received $18,162, of which $2,906 was received during the time Cuffee was incarcerated.
The conspiracy resulted in eight successful claims for $75,960 using other inmates’ information filed by Cuffee, and six more claims for $81,362 using non-inmate information, for a total of $187,928.
Tharp pled guilty on Jan. 25 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On May 28, he was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
Cuffee pled guilty on Feb. 2 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced today to five years and eight months in prison.
