Ardavan Alamoutinia, a 33-year-old resident of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on Mar. 25 before United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez to multiple charges related to a scheme involving fraudulent claims for emergency COVID-19 relief funds.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by federal authorities to address fraud related to pandemic assistance programs intended for those impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
According to United States Attorney David Metcalf, Alamoutinia entered his plea on one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, ten counts of mail fraud, one count of theft of government money, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors said that Alamoutinia and co-defendant Aryanah Davison used stolen identities—primarily from current or former employees of an unnamed company—to file more than 500 fraudulent applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in at least 27 states. The total loss to the government was reported as at least $2,886,876.
Court filings indicate that after receiving personally identifiable information stolen by a co-conspirator and transferred to Davison, the pair filed or caused others to file the fraudulent applications. Authorities say they converted at least $2.5 million from these proceeds into purchases including a luxury sports vehicle and large amounts of cryptocurrency.
Alamoutinia is scheduled for sentencing on July 9 and faces up to 232 years in prison. Davison previously pleaded guilty in January last year and will be sentenced later; she also faces a maximum possible term of 232 years’ imprisonment.
The investigation involved several federal agencies including the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General, and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.
