A Haverhill man was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury for allegedly filing a false Massachusetts Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claim in 2020 for an ineligible man who was living in Brazil at the time.
Forty-one-year-old Julio Roncaly Morais was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to court documents, Morais filed a state pandemic benefits claim June 3, 2020, on behalf of an unnamed man who was living in Brazil before and after the claim was filed. In the application, Morais allegedly certified under penalty of perjury that the other person was a resident and able and available to work in Massachusetts, but was unable to due to the pandemic. As a result of this claim, the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance paid a total of $5,202 in benefits before suspending payments due to an inability to reach the person in Brazil.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office said charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Assistance in the investigation was provided by the Woburn and Norwood Police Departments.