An Orlando man, Zachary Kameron Ramyard, has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for defrauding California’s unemployment insurance system out of more than $4 million. Ramyard, 23, pled guilty last October to wire fraud conspiracy and was sentenced in South Florida, as announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Between August 2020 and August 2022, Ramyard and his co-conspirators exploited pandemic-related benefits for unemployed workers. They used stolen personal information to submit false claims and stole funds from federal programs, including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program (FPUC), and the Lost Wages Assistance Program (LWAP). The money was spent on luxury goods, including diamond-studded "grills," according to the Justice Department.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG).
The fraud occurred after the passage of the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established in May 2021, focuses on targeting pandemic-related crimes. Citizens can report fraud involving COVID-19 through the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline or Web Complaint Form.
In addition to his prison sentence, Ramyard must pay over $1.2 million in restitution. Further details can be found on the Southern District of Florida's court website or the PACER service under case number 22-cr-20382.
