A St. Louis County man, Daryl Jones Jr., is facing the music after pleading guilty to multiple felony charges in connection with a fraudulent scheme to swindle COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits. According to information released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the 45-year-old admitted to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and wire fraud. Between mid-June and mid-July of 2020, Jones was able to deceptively acquire $84,592 in unemployment insurance benefits from the State of Pennsylvania using illegally obtained debit cards in the names of multiple individuals.
The scheme didn't appear to function solely under his own steam. Jones teamed up with his girlfriend, Cheryl Johnson, who provided some of the personal information used to illicitly set up the accounts—details she had acquired while supervising their rightful owners at St. Louis area businesses. In a further act of deceit, On June 3, 2021, Jones submitted counterfeit pay stubs from a phony business to secure a vehicle loan worth over $31,000. according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The plot continued to unravel when Jones and Johnson were caught red-handed. As the authorities conducted a sanctioned search at the home of James Whitiker, a co-conspirator, on June 25, 2021, Jones and Johnson arrived in the very vehicle obtained through loan fraud. There, law enforcement discovered a notebook holding the identities of roughly 35 individuals, alongside other evidence such as stolen identification documents and multiple debit cards tied to Pennsylvania's unemployment insurance benefits.
Sentencing for Jones is now set for May 29. Meanwhile, his accomplice, 44-year-old Johnson, has also pleaded guilty to related charges and will face sentencing in May. Whitiker, accepting his role in the conspiracy, has already been sentenced to three years in prison. He admitted to having used two of the debit cards during the conspiracy and knew well that his home was used as a base for the unemployment fraud operation, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
