Another Member Of Unemployment Benefits Scheme Sentenced To 108 Months

A southwest Virginia man, is the latest member of a group of individuals who fraudulently filed nearly a half million dollars in illegally gained pandemic unemployment benefits. 28 year old Gregory Marcus Tackett of Pound, Virginia pleaded guilty earlier to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of obstructing justice. Tackett, along with others, including his girlfriend fraudulently filed claims after collecting personal identification information from 35 co- conspirators, including 15 inmates, some who were being housed in southwest Virginia jails. Over the course of nine months, Tackett and his girlfriend fraudulently filed claims on at least 37 individuals at a total loss to the government of 499 thousand dollars. For his transgressions, Tackett will now serve nine years in federal prison.