Earl Lafayette Hall, III, 37, of Arlington, Tennessee, and his wife, Renita Blunt, 33, are headed to federal prison after being convicted in a brazen scheme to steal veterans’ unemployment benefits through the UCX Program. Hall was sentenced to 116 months in prison on February 15, 2018, while Blunt received 29 months on January 17, 2018. Both were handed three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution — Hall $96,431, Blunt $38,633 — to labor agencies in Pennsylvania, Utah, and Hawaii.
The pair were convicted by a jury on March 10, 2017, following a federal investigation into their fraudulent claims under the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members (UCX) Program. Hall was found guilty on 12 counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of money laundering, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and two conspiracy charges. Blunt was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. The jury also ordered Hall to forfeit $30,000 and Blunt $1,026 in illicit proceeds.
Between 2013 and 2014, Hall assumed the identities of 10 former military members to siphon benefits from the federally funded UCX program, which is administered by individual states. Blunt used the identity of one ex-service member to file false claims. The UCX program, designed to support transitioning veterans, became a target for exploitation as Hall and Blunt exploited gaps in verification to funnel cash into their pockets.
“Hall and Blunt defrauded the Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Utah unemployment insurance agencies by conspiring to steal the identities of ex-military members in order to receive benefits,” said Richard Deer, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Region. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the UCX Program, a federally funded U.S. Department of Labor unemployment compensation program.”
The probe was led by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Critical support came from Pennsylvania state agencies including the Department of Labor and Industry’s Internal Audits Division, the Office of Unemployment Compensation Benefits and Policy, and the Office of Unemployment Compensation Disbursements within the Department of the Treasury.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kim Douglas Daniel and Scott R. Ford prosecuted the case in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo handed down the sentences, sending a clear message that exploitation of veterans’ benefits will be met with severe consequences. The case underscores the federal government’s push to crack down on fraud targeting unemployment systems and vulnerable populations.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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