DOJ: Former Employee of an Illinois State Subcontractor Indicted for Allegedly Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $4.6 Million in Covid-Relief Benefits
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 19 that Andrea Wellington, a former employee of a State of Illinois subcontractor, has been indicted for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $4.6 million in Covid-relief benefits.
According to the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, Wellington allegedly engaged in fraud related to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. PUA, created under the CARES Act, provided unemployment benefits during the pandemic to self-employed people, gig workers and others not ordinarily eligible for regular unemployment insurance, and it became one of the programs most heavily targeted by relief fraud.
The department did not release additional details of the case in its announcement. An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 位于华盛顿的美国司法部总部大楼入口（资料照片）。Sdkb 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。
