HARRISBURG – In a move that’s being hailed as a victory for the system, Tanner Uffelman, a 29-year-old man from York, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 13 months in prison for his role in a massive pandemic unemployment scam that fleeced states of over $40,000.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Uffelman submitted multiple false applications to states seeking unemployment compensation, claiming that the unemployment was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scam, which was committed from 2020 to 2021, targeted states including Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, and California.
Uffelman, who pleaded guilty to the crime in January 2024, used the identities of numerous innocent victims to submit the false claims. He and his conspirators raked in the cash, stealing over $40,000 from the various states.
But what’s particularly egregious about Uffelman’s case is that he was on supervision with York County authorities at the time he committed the federal offense. He had previously been convicted of unlawful contact or communication with a minor and corruption of minors in 2018, after having a corrupt relationship with a 14-year-old girl.
U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson was unimpressed by Uffelman’s prior convictions, but noted that the time he spent in Dauphin County Prison and his current sentence would be sufficient punishment for the federal crime. She imposed a time served sentence, ordering Uffelman to serve three years of supervised release with the United States Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Ford prosecuting the case. The U.S. Department of Justice’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was also instrumental in bringing Uffelman to justice.
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.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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