A Manchester resident has been sentenced for his role in a scheme to fraudulently acquire CARES Act funds from the U.S. government and the State of New York. Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announced that Kyereem Sackey, 25, received an 18-month federal prison sentence and three years of supervised release from U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty. Additionally, Sackey must pay $295,167 in restitution after pleading guilty in January 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.
"The defendant exploited a national crisis for personal gain," stated Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack. "He stole nearly $300k in pandemic relief funds that were meant to support struggling families and small businesses."
Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, commented on the case: "While the entire world was focused on dealing with a pandemic, Kyereem Sackey was selfishly focused on exploiting programs designed to help people struggling financially to instead enrich himself."
Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Northeast Region at the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General, added: "Kyereem Sackey and his co-defendants engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain New York Department of Labor pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits and Small Business Administration Payroll Protection Program loans."
Court documents reveal that Sackey used social media to conspire with others to file false unemployment insurance claims in New York on behalf of a co-defendant who was not entitled to them. The funds were deposited into the co-defendant’s account before being partially transferred back to Sackey and another accomplice. In total, approximately $50,000 in fraudulent claims were filed.
Additionally, Sackey submitted fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications using a non-existent business under a co-defendant's information. He provided banks with fabricated tax documents leading to over $30,000 in illicit PPP loans.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General with assistance from the Manchester Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Kennedy is prosecuting this case.