Thomas Hartley, Mail Fraud, Pennsylvania 2023

SCRANTON, Pennsylvania - Thomas Hartley, a 49-year-old former Special Agent with the Department of Labor, has been sentenced to 33 months' imprisonment for mail fraud in connection with multiple schemes to commit fraud.

According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Hartley was sentenced on August 23, 2023, by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, to 33 months' imprisonment on the charge of mail fraud.

Hartley, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, previously pleaded guilty and admitted that he obtained a total of $197,366 through multiple fraud schemes. Between April 2020 and September 2021, Hartley applied for and collected Pennsylvania unemployment compensation benefits by claiming that he was unemployed, when in fact Hartley was employed on full-time active duty with the New Jersey National Guard.

Further, in applying for unemployment benefits, the defendant failed to disclose that he was on military leave from his full-time federal civilian employment with the United States Department of Labor. Hartley thereby utilized the mail to collect approximately $60,284 in unemployment compensation funds to which he was not entitled.

In addition to the scheme to fraudulently obtaining Pennsylvania unemployment compensation funds, the second superseding indictment also charged that Hartley, while on leave from his position with the Department of Labor and serving with the New Jersey National Guard, submitted false documents to the Department of the Army and thereby obtained approximately $23,580 in housing allowance funds to which he was not entitled.

The charges against the defendant resulted from an investigation conducted by the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Special Investigations; the United States Army, Criminal Investigation Division; and the USAA Insurance Special Investigations Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O'Hara prosecuted the case.

Hartley's sentencing brings an end to a scheme that saw him obtain over $197,000 in fraudulent funds. The case highlights the importance of vigilance in government programs and the consequences of exploiting them for personal gain.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/former-department-labor-agent-sentenced-33-months-imprisonment-fraud-scheme