Two siblings and a third woman have been sentenced after using the personal information of Virginia prison inmates to fraudulently collect more than $572,000 in unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Antonio Clark, who was incarcerated in 2020, recruited fellow inmates and gathered their names, social security numbers and birthdates.
He then passed that information to his sister, Alicia Clark, and Teonna Williams, according to federal court records.
They used the inmates' personal information to file fraudulent unemployment benefit claims with the Virginia Employment Commission during the pandemic.
Prosecutors say in total the scheme was successful 35 times. They said Antonio Clark caused a loss of over $572,000. The Statement of Facts court record said Williams caused a loss of $115,000 while Alicia Clark caused a loss of $541,000.
All three pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail or wire fraud in relation to benefits paid during a presidentially declared major disaster.
Antonio Clark was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison. Alicia Clark received 24 months, and Williams received 14 months.
The Virginia Employment Commission began reviewing claims for fraud in June 2020. By August of that year, VEC officials had learned from other states that inmates were receiving benefits. The agency cross-referenced its claims against a list of incarcerated individuals and froze the fraudulent accounts.
This scheme continued until November 2020.
Crime Analyst Sonny Stallings has reviewed dozens of COVID relief fraud cases for the WTKR News 3 Investigative Team.
"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," Stallings said.
The Government Accountability Office estimated fraud in unemployment insurance programs totaled between $100 billion and $135 billion from April 2020 through May 2023.
Seto Bagdoyan of the U.S. Government Accountability Office described the failures that allowed the fraud to occur to WTKR back in 2024.
"This was a government wide fail. Basically, at the Federal Level Labor Department didn't have adequate oversight. The guidance was mixed. And then the States themselves had, you know, control failures across the board," Bagdoyan said.
The Department of Justice announced earlier this week that the most wanted COVID-19 fraud fugitive was returned from Jamaica to face charges in a $32 million scheme.
Elaine Escoe, 41, was charged by indictment in 2025 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple substantive counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
She is accused of fleeing after being indicted and is currently being held in Florida.
In the latest figures from the Department of Justice, more than 3,500 defendants have been charged with federal crimes related to COVID fraud.
"I think the more they investigate, the more they're going to find, and the reason the more they're going to find it was so damn easy," Stallings said.
Alicia Clark's attorney released a statement on her behalf.
"Ms. Clark is focused on her family, her responsibilities, and continuing to move forward in a stable, positive way. Out of respect for her privacy, we don't have any additional comment at this time," the attorney said.
Attorneys for Antonio Clark and Williams said they had no comment.
