RI Man Accused Of Collecting Nearly $60K In Unemployment Fraud

WEST WARWICK, RI — A West Warwick man is accused of collecting nearly $60,000 worth of fraudulent pandemic unemployment benefits, Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha's Office said. Richard Allen, 56, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of theft of government money in court this week.

According to Cunha's Office, Allen and others he was involved with used stolen personal information to apply for pandemic-related unemployment insurance. He is accused of applying in several states, including Ohio, Massachusetts, Texas and Arizona. The applications listed addresses associated with Allen to receive the benefits by mail, Cunha's Office explained.

Allen is accused of activating debit cards and withdrawing the benefits, which totaled more than $58,000, sharing some money with the others involved in the scheme. Court documents also alleged that Allen was collecting fraudulent Social Security payments at the same time.