Providence Man Admits To Unemployment Fraud Across 8 States

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Providence man pleaded guilty to unemployment fraud in federal court this week. Vallah Brown, 30, admitted to applying for pandemic benefits in eight states.

In total, Brown collected nearly $49,000 in benefits funded by the federal CARES Act from Massachusetts, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, California, Texas, New York and Louisiana. In his applications, he claimed he was unemployed, lived in the state where he was applying and qualified for state.

On Thursday, Brown pleaded guilty to wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 22 and faces up to 20 years in prison.

Brown is not the first Rhode Islander to be charged with pandemic-related unemployment fraud. In November, Dquintz Alexander was accused of fraudulently collecting more than $450,000 in fraudulent unemployment benefits. A month earlier, six people were charged in a similar scheme to defraud unemployment benefits across several states.