Columbia, SC – In a significant development within the justice system, three individuals have confessed to participating in a sophisticated $5 million COVID-19 fraud scheme orchestrated from behind bars in South Carolina. This fraudulent operation highlights the ongoing challenges faced by law enforcement and correctional institutions in curbing illegal activities facilitated through contraband devices within prison walls.
The scheme, which siphoned nearly $5 million from COVID-19 relief funds, was masterminded by inmates of the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), utilizing contraband cellphones to execute their illicit activities. Among those pleading guilty were Dawn Aileen Hall, Albert J. Cave Jr., and James Griffin, who, alongside Jessica Ann Howell, acknowledged their roles in the conspiracy at the federal courthouse in Columbia, South Carolina.
This operation spanned from March 2020 through December 2020, during which the perpetrators exploited the pandemic’s unemployment benefits across multiple states, including South Carolina, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, Missouri, Arizona, and California. The indictment unveiled a complex web of deceit involving inmates and external accomplices who manipulated personal identifying information (PII) to fraudulently claim unemployment benefits.