Not so funny business: New Jersey comedian admits role in plot to defraud Massachusetts of $1.2 million in pandemic unemployment fraud

A Paterson, NJ antheral who runs a Harlem drama club pleaded blameworthy contiguous to a national complaint of ligament fraud for helping to suck wealth retired of the Massachusetts pandemic unemployment fund, the US Attorney's bureau successful Boston reports.

Omar Thompson, besides known arsenic Omar the Comedian, and an arsenic yet unnamed co-conspirator archetypal acceptable up their ain accounts connected the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance Web tract for pandemic-related unemployment aft the national authorities began giving states wealth for pandemic unemployment successful the outpouring of 2020, according to an affidavit by a Secret Service cause connected the case.

Thompson, who has nary transportation to Massachusetts, received a full $19,000 successful Massachusetts payments - adjacent arsenic helium was getting another $21,000 from a abstracted national small-business money for his drama nine successful New York.

He acceptable up his relationship with Massachusetts successful May, 2020, a period aft helium applied for unemployment successful New Jersey, the affidavit states. Later successful the year, helium tried mounting up a 2nd relationship for himself, this clip listing a Springfield, MA code - but directing that his wealth spell to his checking relationship successful New Jersey.

After their ain payments started flowing, the 2 past utilized the idiosyncratic accusation of a assortment of relatives and others successful creating immoderate 100 Massachusetts accounts, which paid retired immoderate $1.2 cardinal successful claims. None of the relatives lived successful Massachusetts, either - and immoderate were already getting unemployment successful their existent location states. The IP numbers tracked by the authorities Web tract led to computers owned by Thompson and his co-conspirator, the affidavit states.

According to the affidavit, the authorities paid retired connected 50 claims from accounts that utilized out-of-state driver's licenses and mailing addresses connected their online forms - successful immoderate cases involving radical who were already drafting unemployment successful different states.

As portion of its effort to beryllium that Thompson was not a Massachusetts resident, the FBI scrolled done his social-media accounts going backmost astatine slightest 2 years. The affidavit cited an Instagram pagefrom 2019 showing Thompson holding a New Jersey concern certificate for his past caller company, Oceans of Laughs.

Thompson present faces up to 20 years successful situation and a good of up to $250,000, though the harshest sentences are typically reserved for repetition offenders.. He faces sentencing connected March 22.