A 42-year-old Haverhill man recently pleaded guilty to making false statements in connection with a Massachusetts Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claim he submitted in 2020 on behalf of a man who was living in Brazil at the time, and therefore ineligible to receive such benefits.
Julio Roncaly Morais, who was indicted by a federal grand jury last June, pleaded guilty to false statements. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for May 28.
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.