Former Detroit USPS employee sentenced for unemployment benefits fraud
A former Detroit U.S. Postal Service employee has been sentenced for obtaining unemployment insurance benefits through fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Michigan.
Christopher Powell, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan K. DeClercq to 20 months in prison after working as a letter carrier with USPS and previously pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud, the district attorney's office says.
In addition to the prison term, Powell was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution of $166,366.53 and a forfeiture money judgment in the same amount.
At the time of his guilty plea, Powell admitted that from July 2020 through January 2024, he submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in multiple states using his own personal identifying information and made false certifications to obtain and maintain such benefits, according to the district attorney's office.
Powell also admitted that he directed mail related to at least one fraudulent claim to an address on his mail route, the district attorney's office says.
In July 2023, after spending the stolen benefits associated with one false claim, Powell falsely reported to his bank that he never received the unemployment insurance funds, prompting the bank to issue him more money that he wasn't entitled to, the U.S. Attorney's Office says.
The investigation included the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
