Chesco Man Jailed Over 2 ½ Years for Stealing Pandemic Unemployment

PHILADELPHIA — A 25-year-old Chester County man was sentenced Thursday to two years and nine months in federal prison for filing a fraudulent application for pandemic unemployment compensation while in jail on drug charges.

Kenneth L. Huggins, Jr. of Coatesville was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert here to serve three years of probation following his jail sentence.

Investigators said Huggins fraudulently obtained nearly $13,000 in unemployment benefits while serving an 11 ½ to 23 month sentence in Chester County Prison on unrelated drugs offenses.

“Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds are intended to help working Americans continue to pay their bills and make ends meet, even when hours and wages have dropped dramatically due to the pandemic,” U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said in a prepared statement.

"Thieves who attempt to take these funds are taking advantage of others’ misfortune – ripping them off while also ripping off all taxpayers who fund the program."

According to court records:

Huggens pleaded guilty in December 2021 to mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud stemming from this scheme to file false unemployment claims.

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, CARES Act, was enacted to provide unemployment benefits to workers who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic and were ineligible for other unemployment compensation.

Beginning in July 2020, Huggins arranged to have relatives submit fraudulent claims on his behalf.

Huggins also attempted to convince his relatives to file claims for other Chester County Prison inmates and planned to keep the vast majority of any funds paid to those inmates for himself.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the IRS criminal investigations division, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rice.