A 37-year-old man from Westchester, Los Angeles, who founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to mentoring public school students, was arrested on allegations of defrauding COVID-19 relief programs. The CEO of Champs Up! LLC, Reginald Foster Jr., is accused of filing numerous fraudulent applications for jobless benefits, using stolen identities in some cases, as reported by the United States Department of Justice.
Accused together with two others, Foster is facing a 40-count federal indictment which includes charges of conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft. A $50,000 bond has secured his pretrial release. Allegedly, the scheme involved submitting fraudulent claims under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provision, even exploiting the program designed to aid self-employed workers and others normally ineligible for such relief.
Federal authorities claim that nearly $1.5 million was withdrawn before the benefits were frozen, potentially creating a loss of over $4 million. Shelece Counts, a 31-year-old from the Westlake neighborhood of LA, is identified among the accomplices and has been charged with 11 counts of bank fraud, among other charges. As noted by CBS News Los Angeles, Counts has pleaded not guilty and was released on a $10,000 bond.
As part of the alleged fraud, prosecutors argue that a total of 118 fraudulent applications were submitted, with the indictment detailing that Foster transferred the ill-gotten funds through ATMs and into the accounts of Champs Up! LLC. Not stopping at this, Foster is accused of having passed the debit cards onto his partners, enabling further unlawful withdrawals. Isaiah Herbert Lawrence of Houston, Texas, was also named in the indictment and charged with counts of bank fraud akin to the others involved.
If convicted on all charges, the Department of Justice states that each defendant could face up to 30 years in federal prison for the conspiracy and each bank fraud count. The mail fraud and use of unauthorized access device counts carry additional years, while a conviction for aggravated identity theft will tack on a mandatory two years. The investigation leading to these arrests was a combined effort featuring several government agencies and coordinated by the Justice Department's COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force established by the Attorney General, aiming to combat pandemic-related fraud.
For those with information on potential COVID-19 fraud, the Department of Justice encourages reporting to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline or through their online complaint form.
