Lamont Brown, Theft of Government Funds, New York 2026

A Dunkirk man has pleaded guilty to stealing government funds as part of a COVID-19 fraud scheme.

According to court documents, Lamont Brown, 37, of Dunkirk, NY, recruited others to apply for unemployment assistance compensation through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program for which they were not entitled.

Brown and his recruits obtained personally identifiable information and used that information to obtain PUA funds from the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources.

Brown received a portion of the PUA funds the recruits received as payment for allowing them to participate in the scheme.

In July 2020, Brown personally received a check totaling $10,122.00 from the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources, which he deposited into a checking account at a Lake Shore Savings Bank within the Western District of New York.

The total loss to the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources due to the scheme was $67,524.

The plea is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone, Northeast Region.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 5, 2026, before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.

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