NORFOLK, Va. — It's been over five years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by health officials back in March of 2020. However, new cases related to COVID relief fraud continue to emerge.
In some of the more shocking cases, inmates have worked with people on the outside to obtain unemployment benefits they were not entitled to.
Watch related: Virginia inmate worked with 3 on the outside in COVID relief fraud scheme
Investigative Reporter Margaret Kavanagh uncovered details of a recent case as she continues looking into the overall impact of COVID relief fraud, which cost Americans billions of dollars.
"How in the world did the government allow this to happen? There's no checks. We've got people in the penitentiary getting unemployment money," said Legal Analyst Sonny Stallings, who has reviewed dozens of COVID relief fraud cases in recent years.
Beginning in January of 2020, an inmate inside the Dillwyn Correctional Center, Antonio Clark, is accused of gathering personal information from 17 other inmates and working with two Newport News women—Alicia Clark and Teonna Williams—to apply for COVID relief funds, according to federal prosecutors.
All three are facing mail fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud charges.
Watch related: Former Hampton airman sentenced for multimillion-dollar romance scam, COVID relief fraud
Prosecutors allege that as a result of the scheme, the Virginia Employment Commission approved and sent out more than $246,000 in unemployment benefits. They allege that though some money was recovered, it resulted in a loss of more than $233,000.
The WTKR News 3 Investigative Team has been looking into COVID relief fraud for years. Back in 2024, we interviewed Seto Bagdoyan with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, who stated: "This was a government-wide fail. Basically, at the federal level, the Labor Department didn't have adequate oversight. The guidance was mixed and then the states themselves had control failures across the board."
In August 2020, Virginia Employment Commission officials learned from other states that inmates in correctional facilities were receiving these kinds of benefits and put a stop to it, according to prosecutors.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in April that although there is no way to know exactly how much fraud took place overall, hundreds of billions of dollars were likely lost.
As of December 2024, the Department of Justice charged more than 3,000 people, companies, and other entities with fraud-related crimes, with defendants typically sentenced to one to five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution, according to the latest report.
"I think the more they investigate, the more they're going to find. And the reason the more they're going to find is, it was so damn easy," Stallings said.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the three suspects in the recent case, and WTKR News 3 will continue to follow the investigation.
