MD Residents Plead Guilty To Fraudulent COVID-19 Unemployment Claims

ROCKVILLE, MD — Three Rockville residents pleaded guilty to filing at least 38 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Maryland attorney general’s office.

Kelvin Konadu Ntim Boadu, Cindy Thompson Boadu and Kwame Boadu of Rockville each pleaded guilty to one count of theft by Deception, with a value over $100,000, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception with a value of over $100,000, and four counts of identity fraud, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said Tuesday.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Senior Judge John Addison Howard is scheduled to sentence Kelvin Konadu Ntim Boadu on Feb. 29 and Kwame Boadu and Cindy Boadu on July 22.

The Boadus’ convictions stem from at least 38 fraudulent unemployment claims they filed in the names of identity fraud victims in June and July 2020, after the federal government allocated billions of dollars in funding to states for residents who were suddenly unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the attorney general’s office.

By filing these fraudulent unemployment claims using the personal identification information, the three Rockville residents caused the Maryland Department of Labor to distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits onto bank debit cards, the attorney general’s office said.

Upon receiving the debit cards, the defendants were able to spend more than $200,000 of the funds intended for unemployed residents for their personal benefit. As part of their sentences, the defendants will be ordered to pay about $222,000 in restitution to the Maryland Department of Labor.