Duane Watts, Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, Maryland 2022

Baltimore duo pleads guilty to wire fraud and identity theft in connection with unemployment insurance scheme.

Duane Watts, 46, and Donna Jones, 59, both of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft in connection with an unemployment insurance (UI) fraud scheme. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a federal law enacted in March 2020, provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to both guilty pleas, beginning in May 2020, and continuing through at least May 2021, Watts, Jones, and other co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy and scheme to defraud and obtain money by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, in connection with an UI fraud scheme.

Specifically, Watts and Jones obtained the personal identifiable information (PII) of identity theft victims and used the PII to cause false and fraudulent claims. The co-conspirators then submitted the fraudulent claims to the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) for UI. Watts and Jones, along with their co-conspirators, used the UI benefits, which were designated to assist unemployed or underemployed persons due to the COVID-19 national emergency, for their own personal enrichment.

U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes commended the DOL-OIG and FBI, along with Bank of America – Detection and Complex Investigations Fraud Rings and Analytics, for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney John D’Amico, who prosecuted the case, and recognized Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber for her valuable assistance.

The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the CARES Act. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.

For more information on the government’s response to the pandemic, please visit justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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