Mary Landon Benton, Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Fraud, Virginia 2021

NORFOLK, Va. – In a shocking case of pandemic-related unemployment benefits fraud, a Portsmouth woman pleaded guilty to her involvement in a scheme that netted over $300,000.

Mary Landon Benton, 38, worked with inmates at three Virginia correctional institutions to collect the personally identifiable information of other inmates to fraudulently apply for Virginia unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents, Benton submitted successful applications for Virginia unemployment benefits for 31 inmates across three Virginia correctional facilities. Benton also attempted to file approximately ten to twenty other unemployment claims that were not approved because someone else had already filed a claim for that inmate.

Each application that Benton submitted contained numerous false statements that made the application successful, such as the inmates’ contact information and last employer, and that they were ready and willing to work.

Benton was indicted for her role in the conspiracy on April 8, 2021, along with three other defendants. The criminal cases against Benton’s three co-defendants remain pending, and each individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Benton is scheduled to be sentenced on October 25. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is part of a larger effort to protect essential taxpayer-funded resources and hold accountable those who seek to illegally profit from the pandemic. As Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Raj Parekh, emphasized, “This scheme resulted in the deliberate theft of unemployment funds that were intended to serve as a lifeline for members of our communities who faced financial hardship during the pandemic.”

Benton’s guilty plea affirms the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General’s commitment to working with federal and state agency partners to investigate fraud and identity theft that adversely impacts the integrity of the unemployment insurance program.

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