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Waterbury, Connecticut - Olajuwon Harrington, aka "OJ Harrington," 31, of Waterbury, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and to pay $793,254 in restitution after his involvement in the theft of pandemic unemployment benefits using the names of more than 40 people.

Key Points

• The Connecticut Department of Labor (CT-DOL) is responsible for administering unemployment insurance benefits for Connecticut residents.
• Harrington was involved in submitting numerous fraudulent applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, using the identifying information of real persons without their consent.
• The CT-DOL, misled by these applications, issued unemployment assistance in the form of debit cards for about 43 victims, sending the cards to the addresses listed in the fraudulent applications.
• Over a 20-month period, Harrington illegally obtained and used these debit cards, which were issued in the victims' names, for his personal gain.
• Harrington was initially arrested on a criminal complaint on November 30, 2022, and later, on May 10, 2023, he pleaded guilty to access device fraud.