A former employee of the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance was sentenced three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to to fraud and identity theft charges for falsely requesting more than $240,000 in claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Tiffany Pacheco, 36, formerly of New Bedford, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on Aug. 30, 2021.
She was ordered to three years of supervision upon her release by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $199,555 and to forfeit $17,181, officials said.
Tiffany Pacheco was hired by the DUA in April of 2020 shortly after being released from federal prison following a conviction of aggravated identity theft. During her employment with the DUA, Tifanny Pacheco abused her position to submit fraudulent PUA claim information on behalf of herself and her husband, Arthur Pacheco, who was incarcerated in Texas until Sept. 4, 2020, and therefore ineligible for PUA funds, prosecutors said.
In June 2020, PUA claims submitted for Tiffany Pacheco and her husband said their 2019 income was $0 and that they had no dependents. Tiffany Pacheco later accessed the PUA computer system and changed claim information for herself and her husband to increase the amount of money they would receive.
“For example, Tiffany Pacheco increased the amount of 2019 income for...
A video shows the Green Party celebrating an election win in a foreign language. False. This video was posted before the election. It is a Bengali language campaign video posted by the Green Party ...