Postal Employee Indicted for Unemployment Fraud

NEWARK, N.J. – 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 announced.

Samantha Jenkins, 45, of North Plainfield, New Jersey, 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.  As a result, Jenkins received tens of thousands of dollars in employment benefits she was not entitled to.

During the relevant period, Jenkins’s salary from the USPS and her unemployment benefits were deposited into one of her bank accounts.  For 13 months, 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.  Senior Counsel Lamparello credited special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; special agents with the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modofferi; and special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.