CLEVELAND (WJW) — A local man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to multiple fraud charges.
Darmani Hawkins, 21, of Aurora , was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
According to a press release, he pleaded guilty to charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and mail theft.
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Hawkins was also ordered to pay more than $681,000 in restitution and will serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
The charges stemmed from two separate schemes: one to fraudulently obtain COVID-era state unemployment benefits, and another involving the theft and alteration of checks from the U.S. mail. According to court documents, Hawkins and his co-conspirators engaged in these crimes from 2020 through 2023.
In the first scheme, prosecutors say Hawkins exploited the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was designed to provide unemployment assistance to individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He is charged with submitting false unemployment claims to several states, making it appear they were eligible for benefits. Once approved, the states issued unemployment payments in the form of debit cards, which Hawkins used to withdraw cash for personal gain, according to a press release.