NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. — A 24-year-old Cumberland County man will serve 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to committing pandemic unemployment fraud, U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus announced Monday.
Andrew Marszalek, of New Cumberland, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner at a recent hearing, Gurganus said.
According to Gurganus, Marszalek pled guilty to conspiring with five others to file false claims for unemployment assistance during the pandemic.
"These defendants gathered personal identification information from inmates housed within the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections system and filed unemployment claims," Gurganus said in a press release. "The payments were mailed to particular addresses in New Cumberland...where they were gathered and the funds accessed."
Marszalek and his co-conspirators arranged for the payment of tens of thousands of dollars in benefits which they were not entitled to obtain, according to Gurganus.
In addition to Marszalek:
- Nicholas Baggio, 32, an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. He is awaiting sentencing.
- Alexis Figueroa, 31, of Philadelphia; Oscar Martinez, 28, an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Rockview; and Jeovanny Shultz, 28, an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Mercer, are awaiting trial.
- Joshua Powles, 33, of Philadelphia, is wanted as a fugitive in relation to the case.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the United States Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio is prosecuting the case.
