By: Najla Alexander
NJ authorities announced that a New Jersey woman was charged by indictment with five counts of wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining tens of thousands of dollars in unemployment funds while working for the United States Postal Service.
Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello stated that Samantha Jenkins, 45, of North Plainfield, had her arraignment yesterday in Trenton before United States Magistrate Judge Justin T. Quinn.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, for more than a year, Jenkins filed weekly certifications with the New Jersey Department of Labor in which she claimed she was not working, and was therefore eligible to receive unemployment benefits.
But in reality, Jenkins worked for the USPS as a window/mail clerk, NJ officials say. As a result, Jenkins received tens of thousands of dollars in employment benefits she was not entitled to.
During the relevant period, Jenkins’s USPS salary and her unemployment benefits were deposited into one of her bank accounts, accoridng to NJ officials.
For 13 months, N officials stated that Jenkins used that bank account to receive both her salary from the USPS and unemployment benefits from the NJDOL. Oftentimes, deposits from both entities were made just days apart from one another.
Each charge of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, NJ officials stated.