An Allen Park man is going down for his role in a pandemic unemployment insurance fraud scheme that swiped over half a million dollars from the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Christopher Niebel, 46, was slapped with a 63-month prison sentence, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $512,000 in restitution to the MUIA. Niebel copped to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in February 2024 before United States District Judge Stephen J. Murphy III.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Niebel was running a tax preparation service in Allen Park, but he also worked seasonally as a manager for Party City. Through his Party City gig, Niebel had access to the files of individuals who had worked or applied to work at the company, which included their personal identifying information.
Niebel stole a stash of I-9 employment verification forms from Party City in approximately 2019, which contained a ton of personal info, including names, social security numbers, and dates of birth. He then filed these documents away for future use.
Once pandemic unemployment assistance funds became available, Niebel used the pilfered info to submit fake claims for benefits, using the names and identifying info of applicants for jobs with Party City without their knowledge or consent. Niebel even went so far as to open numerous bank accounts in Michigan to capture the funds, which were wired to those accounts.
After getting his hands on the cash, Niebel blew it on personal expenses, including food, lodging, lottery tickets, casino gambling, and transportation. Over the course of the scheme, Niebel swiped approximately $512,000 in pandemic unemployment assistance funds to which he was not entitled.
“Christopher Niebel stole over half a million dollars in funds intended to help unemployed Michigan citizens during an unprecedented pandemic. His theft of pandemic unemployment assistance followed his theft of the personal identifying information of numerous people from a previous employer,” said U.S. Attorney Ison. “My office is committed to holding to account all of those who illegally obtained Covid relief funds for their private gain.”
“Christopher Niebel filed fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims in the names of identity theft victims which caused him to receive UI benefits to which he was not entitled. He enriched himself by defrauding a program that was intended to assist struggling American workers during an unprecedented global pandemic,” said Daniel Loza, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge.
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Key Facts
- State: Michigan
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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