Two Dunkirk residents, Lamont Brown, 37, and Jesus Ramos, 41, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and theft of government funds. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Franz M. Wright, the indictment alleges that between July and October 2020, during the Covid pandemic, Brown and Ramos conspired with others to defraud both the United States and the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources. The two men allegedly recruited individuals who had never lived or worked in Puerto Rico to use their personal information—such as names, social security numbers, and dates of birth—to apply for unemployment insurance benefits from the Puerto Rico Department of Labor.
Wright stated: “Brown and Ramos recruited individuals who had never lived or worked in Puerto Rico to use their personally identifiable information (‘PII’), including their names, social security numbers, and dates of birth, to apply for, obtain, and attempt to obtain Unemployment Insurance benefits from the Puerto Rico Department of Labor. They provided the PII to individuals in Puerto Rico to complete applications for unemployment insurance and utilized existing bank accounts or opened new bank accounts to deposit the unemployment checks received. The banking institutions included Lake Shore Savings Bank, Key Bank, and Inner Lakes Federal Credit Union.”
The indictment states that Brown and Ramos stole or attempted to steal a total of $67,000 from the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources.
Both defendants were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and released on conditions.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations under Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan’s direction as well as by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General under Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone’s direction in the Northeast Region.
U.S. Attorney DiGiacomo emphasized: “The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.”
