A Corpus Christi man has been sent to federal prison after officials said he admitted to getting unemployment payments fraudulently.
A statement from the Department of Justice said 29-year-old William Cleveland Peck pleaded guilty to fraud charges Oct. 22, 2020. Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David S. Morales ordered him to serve a 41-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
Peck came up with a scheme to fraudulently misappropriate $255,052 in unemployment benefits "meant for those suffering financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic", Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery said.
As part of his guilty plea, Peck admitted to using personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth, related to several individuals. Peck then used that information to file multiple false and fraudulent claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and general unemployment benefits between May and July 2020, US district attorneys said.
Peck also admitted to committing mail fraud by using the fake identities to file false and fraudulent claims with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), causing TWC to mail debit cards to a P.O. Box Peck utilized.
Peck then used the debit cards to withdraw cash and make purchases. The individuals under whose identities Peck filed the false claims were not residents of Texas, not eligible for benefits through TWC and did not authorize Peck to file such claims, officials said.
Peck was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
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