Irvis Jorge, Government Property Theft, New York 2023

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Irvis Jorge, a 44-year-old prisoner, was sentenced to 364 days in jail for fraudulently applying for unemployment benefits while a state prisoner. In a scheme that involved his girlfriend, Jorge conspired to steal government property, a crime that has landed him behind bars.

The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and other authorities. Jorge, who was working with his girlfriend Pamela Febo, submitted a fraudulent unemployment insurance claim to NYSDOL using his personal identifying information. Febo submitted the application at Jorge’s direction in October 2020 and continued to re-certify Jorge’s benefits eligibility each week for approximately four months.

Febo certified each week that Jorge was “able and available to start work immediately” even though Febo knew Jorge remained incarcerated and could not work. NYSDOL paid the defendants $27,348 based on the repeated false certifications.

Sentenced to 364 days in jail, Jorge’s term of imprisonment will run consecutive to his state term of imprisonment for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree. He was also ordered to serve 3 years of supervised release and pay restitution in the amount of $27,348 and forfeiture in the amount of $12,444.

Febo, who pled guilty on October 26, 2022, is scheduled to be sentenced in February. The case was investigated by the FBI, the NYSDOCCS Office of Special Investigations, and the NYSDOL Office of Special Investigations, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner.

The crime highlights the importance of vigilance in preventing pandemic-related fraud. In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force has been instrumental in uncovering and prosecuting fraudulent actors and their schemes.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

In mandatory facts, this article includes: Defendant/Respondent: Irvis Jorge; Exact charges: Conspiring to Steal Government Property; City and State: Albany, New York; Exact date: October 2020; Sentence: 364 days in jail; Dollar amounts: $27,348 and $12,444.

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