COVID Fraud Chesco Suspects Among 458 Indicted

CHESTER COUNTY – Three Chester County residents were among the 458 individuals indicted in the last three years for stealing funds allocated in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, according to a report released this week by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation department.

In the last three years, the IRS investigated 975 tax and money laundering cases related to COVID fraud, totaling $3.2 billion, according to the report.

The CARES Act is a $2.2 trillion economic recovery law enacted on March 27, 2020, by the federal government to help the nation recover from the pandemic.

The fraud cases include a broad range of criminal activity, including fraudulently obtained loans, credits and payments meant for American workers, families, and small businesses.

These Chester County residents were sentenced for COVID fraud, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Kenneth L. Huggins Jr., 49, of Coatesville is serving a two-year and nine months sentence in federal prison for stealing pandemic unemployment compensation while he was in jail on drug charges.

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.

Huggins had relatives submit fraudulent claims on his behalf, officials said.

Emily Baier, 29, of West Chester was sentenced in December 2021 to 14 months in federal prison followed by five years of probation for fraudulently claiming $47,000 in pandemic unemployment compensation.
Baier filed claims for pandemic relief for herself and another inmate, co-defendant, Jacob Fulton, while she was in Chester County Prison for
Jacob Fulton, 34, of Coatesville, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and five years of probation falsely claiming and taking approximately $32,000 in pandemic relief. He was released from prison on April 1, 2022.
Fulton was in Chester County Prison in July 2020, when he continued to submit weekly certifications that he was eligible for these benefits.
Official said Fulton conspired to file claims on behalf of at least two other inmates and take a cut of the claim payments for himself.
To report a suspected crime, taxpayers may visit IRS.gov.