Hector J. Sanchez, Pandemic-Related Fraud, New York 2022

ALBANY, NEW YORK – A Rensselaer man has pleaded guilty to defrauding pandemic-related unemployment insurance programs administered by the New York State Department of Labor.

Hector J. Sanchez, 30, of Rensselaer, New York, pled guilty today to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft with respect to his unemployment insurance fraud scheme.

Sanchez admitted to soliciting the personal identifying information of other people on social media and using the information to submit false unemployment insurance applications to NYSDOL. He also admitted that he fraudulently obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan by falsely claiming to run a car wash business.

The mail fraud convictions carry maximum terms of 20 years in prison, fines of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. The aggravated identity theft conviction carries a mandatory term of 2 years in prison, to be imposed consecutively to any other term of imprisonment.

Sanchez agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $131,560 to the State of New York and $12,500 to the PPP lender.

Sanchez is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25, 2022, by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the NYSDOL Office of Special Investigations and the Albany Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Chisholm. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the government in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.

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