Rockview prison inmate was a ringleader in scheme to steal COVID-19 relief funds, AG says
A Rockview state prison inmate was accused Tuesday of fraudulently applying for unemployment benefits for himself and 10 other state prison inmates during the coronavirus pandemic.
John R. Jones, 31, was labeled by state Attorney General Josh Shapiro as one of three ringleaders of the racketeering scheme.
He was accused of providing 10 names to an outside accomplice, who then received the payments and divvied up the money among inmates. The applications Jones is accused of illegally applying for were worth nearly $67,000.
“These three individuals have been charged for conspiring to illegally take benefits from hardworking Pennsylvanians, who continue to struggle through this immensely difficult time,” Shapiro said in a written statement. “As I’ve said previously, these arrests are not the end of our investigation, and my office will continue to track down those heading these schemes and bring them to justice.”
A mixture of 24 inmates and five people outside the prisons have been charged by Shapiro’s office for fraudulently applying for pandemic unemployment benefits. The applications amounted to more than $2.3 million in fraud.
A defense lawyer was not listed on a court document. Jones, of Philadelphia, has been detained at Rockview since Feb. 7, 2017 — nearly three years before he reported his last day of unemployment, Shapiro wrote.
Jones was charged with one felony count each of corrupt organizations, conspiracy to commit corrupt organizations, theft by unlawful taking, conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, conspiracy to commit theft by deception, receiving stolen property and criminal use of a communication facility.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 1:00 PM.