Less Staff, Increased Workloads, Decreased Funding Led to Unprecedented Backlog FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE As a backlog of payment actions affecting Social Security beneficiaries continues to mount, so does a rise in the Agency’s improper payments. As of February 2024, SSA’s pending actions backlog reached an all-time high of 5.2 million pending actions, resulting in $1.1…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Washington man was sentenced today to five years and three months in prison for wire fraud. According to court documents, from at least June 2020 through at least June 2021, Clayton Rosenberg, aka Kenneth Clayton and Kobe, 31, and his co-conspirators submitted…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey NEWARK, N.J. – Three residents of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, were extradited to the United States last week and made their initial appearance in Newark federal court yesterday on charges relating to their participation in a sprawling “grandparent scam” that defrauded elderly Americans out…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts BOSTON – A Florida man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with his role in conspiring to use stolen identities to fraudulently obtain disaster loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and to launder the funds.   Hector Garcia, 52, of Ocala, Fla.,…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey TRENTON, N.J. – A Florida man was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining over $2.4 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) payments, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Mohamed A. Awad, 61, of Ocala,…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Charmaine Miesha Brown, age 45, of Lusby, Maryland, to 30 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release for conspiracies to commit passport fraud and wire fraud, as well as bankruptcy fraud, and making a…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a St. Louis County, Missouri woman to five years of probation and 18 months of house arrest and ordered her to repay $131,155 for helping her son fake a mental disability for more than…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Office of Public Affairs Scammers Phoned American Seniors, Impersonated Attorneys to Steal Cash Two residents of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, were extradited to the United States last week and made their initial appearance in Newark federal court yesterday on charges relating to their participation in a sprawling “grandparent…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey CAMDEN, N.J. – A North Carolina woman admitted conspiring to submit fraudulent applications leading to the issuance of 29 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling more than $3.5 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today. Lisa Smith, 61, of Cornelius, North Carolina, pleaded guilty before…

Tampa, Florida – The Foreign Medical Program (FMP), an initiative by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, provides a lifeline for veterans with service-connected disabilities living or traveling abroad. Tampa-based veteran’s disability law firm David W. Magann, P.A., known for its commitment to serving veterans, highlights the importance of this new benefit and its role…