CHICKALOON, Alaska (KTUU) – A Chickaloon man was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for attempting to defraud the U.S. Government of $170,000 in COVID relief funds, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to the DOJ, following the passage of the CARES Act in 2020, 44-year-old Christopher Staggs began using his Chicago-based company ABN Circle as a front to file false unemployment insurance applications in Alaska, as well as other states.
Authorities say Staggs harvested personally identifiable information from people who were either unaware or believed he was assisting them in applying for unemployment benefits…