HARRISBURG — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Earl Lafayette Hall, III, age 38, previously of Chicago and Arlington, Tennessee, was sentenced to 101 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $96,431 in restitution on June 9, 2020, by U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo for veteran’s unemployment compensation fraud.
According to U.S. Attorney David J. Freed, Hall was convicted in November 2019 by a federal jury on two counts of conspiracy, 12 counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of money laundering, and 4 counts of aggravated identity theft.
The evidence presented during the trial and the sentencing hearing, showed that Hall applied for and received $96,431 in unemployment compensation benefits under the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members Program, commonly known as “The UCX Program,” under the assumed identities (first name, last name, date of birth and Social Security Number) of eleven other individuals.
The UCX Program is a federally funded, U.S. Department of Labor program administered by the States. The jury found that Hall fraudulently obtained the benefits paid on 7 false UCX claims submitted to Pennsylvania, 3 false UCX claims submitted in Utah, and another false identity UCX claim submitted to Hawaii in 2013 and 2014.
“On behalf of the investigative team, we are very pleased with the serious sentence and restitution order imposed in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Freed. “As I said at the time of conviction, it takes an especially devious and brazen criminal mind to defraud a program established to benefit those who have sacrificed so much for their fellow citizens. Fortunately the Defense Criminal Investigation Service, the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the United States Postal Inspection Service and numerous other federal, state and local partners were on the case.”
“The UCX Program, which provides unemployment benefits for eligible unemployed former service members following their separation from the military, is extremely important," stated Special Agent in Charge Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Northeast Field Office. "The sentencing announced today marks the conclusion of a successful joint investigation and confirms the DCIS' ongoing commitment to work with its law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania, to protect the integrity of DoD programs and the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces."
“Earl Lafayette Hall III schemed to defraud the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members Program in order to personally enrich himself at the expense of former military service members and tax payers,” said Derek Pickle Special Agent-in-Charge, Philadelphia Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to aggressively pursue prosecution of those who seek to defraud our nation’s veterans and the DOL programs that support them.”
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering & Fraud Investigations, the U.S. Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Harrisburg. The investigation was assisted by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Internal Audits Division, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Office of Unemployment Compensation Benefits and Policy, and the Pennsylvania Department of Treasury, Office of Unemployment Compensation Disbursements. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel prosecuted the case.
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