FORT WORTH, Texas — A former resident of Fort Worth has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits, according to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Mark Alan Valles, a 51-year-old previously of Fort Worth, Texas, pled guilty in October 2025 to conspiring to steal government funds. On February 20, 2026, Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor sentenced Valles to 60 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $407,724 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration.
“This defendant exploited government programs and stole funds intended to aid Americans during a critical economic period in this country,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “I applaud the diligent work of our law enforcement partners in uncovering the fraud scheme and seeing justice done in this case.”…