Man charged with committing $1.5M pandemic fraud

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A Lackawanna County man has been charged with committing over $1.5 million in COVID-19 pandemic fraud.

According to U. S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam, James G. Miller, Jr., 53, of Scranton, obtained over $1,500,000 by filing fake applications for pandemic stimulus funds, including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, Lost Wage Assistance (LWA) payments, and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

The applications allegedly submitted by Miller and others were filed in the names of victims of identity theft and had false representations.

The PUA applications had false information about the identity theft victims’ demographics, employment statuses, and availability to work, police stated. Investigators said the PPP applications were filed under fake businesses, false financial information, and forged federal tax documentation.

The maximum penalties for wire fraud charges are 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

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