A man from Des Moines, Iowa, originally from Vietnam, has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Long Ly, 45, was found guilty of convincing five individuals from the Vietnamese community in Des Moines to allow him to file unemployment benefit claims on their behalf despite their employment status. Some of these individuals had limited proficiency in English. Ly also filed false claims for himself while employed.
Court documents reveal that between 2020 and 2021, Ly misrepresented his employment status and that of his victims in submissions to Iowa Workforce Development. In some instances, he directed benefits payments to bank accounts under his control without the victims' consent or knowledge.
The fraudulent activities resulted in nearly $100,000 being issued by Iowa Workforce Development as benefits payments to Ly and his victims, including funds authorized during COVID-19 pandemic emergency declarations. Following his prison term, Ly will serve a three-year supervised release period and must pay $72,872.20 in restitution.
Casey Howard, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Central Region for the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General stated: “Long Ly defrauded Iowa Workforce Development by filing for unemployment insurance benefits using the compromised identities of vulnerable and elderly victims who had limited English proficiency. This sentencing affirms the Office of Inspector General’s commitment to work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to safeguard the unemployment insurance program for American workers who need it.”
Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development, expressed gratitude towards prosecutorial efforts: “Iowa Workforce Development takes unemployment fraud seriously and in recent years has significantly expanded its set of tools to help catch individuals who seek to defraud taxpayers. We are grateful for efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other partner prosecutors who are willing to work with us to keep fraudsters accountable and to maintain the integrity of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.”
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal from the Southern District of Iowa following an investigation led by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
Reports regarding attempted fraud related to COVID-19 can be submitted via phone at 866-720-5721 or through an online complaint form available at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form