A Canadian national, Joseph Osei, also known as "Kyngjo," has been sentenced to 54 months in prison after being found guilty of defrauding several states' unemployment systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Osei, 30, formerly of Albany, committed fraud to obtain over $200,000 in benefits using stolen identities from August to November 2020.
During the trial, evidence revealed that Osei targeted the New York State Department of Labor, as well as the state workforce agencies of California, Rhode Island, and Arizona for his fraudulent activities. Jurors returned a guilty verdict on all counts after less than two hours of deliberation, which included four counts of mail fraud, one count of access device fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, “Joseph Osei’s brazen exploitation of critical relief programs during a national crisis was an affront to every individual who genuinely relied on these resources to survive," Acting U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III said in the press release.
Following his prison term, United States District Judge Mae A. D'Agostino has also ordered Osei to a 3-year term of supervised release. Additionally, he is required to pay restitution to the State of New York and State of Arizona in the total amount of $211,360 and to forfeit a money judgment.
The successful prosecution of Osei was the result of collaboration between various law enforcement agencies including the USPIS, HSI, and the USDOL-OIG, with support from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s New York Field Office and the New York State Department of Labor’s Office of Special Investigations. The case against Osei was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander P. Wentworth-Ping, and Joshua R. Rosenthal.
