Man stole COVID unemployment, sent bomb threats to jobs: feds

A 33-year-old man is facing felony charges after federal prosecutors said he lied on an application for unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic and threatened to bomb his workplaces.

Cortez L. Brown was indicted on 11 counts of wire fraud, stealing government money and making explosive threats. Court filings show Brown was taken into custody after an initial court appearance on April 19 and arraigned in the Western District of Louisiana on Friday, April 22.

Brown is from Haynesville, Louisiana, a town of 2,400 residents encompassing less than 5 square miles just shy of the Arkansas border.

He could not be reached for comment, and a defense attorney representing him did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on April 22.

Congress created the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program in the early days of the pandemic, which allowed individuals who were out of work because of COVID-19 to receive an additional $600 a week on top of their regular unemployment benefits.

The money was distributed by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

Prosecutors said Brown filed for COVID-19 unemployment benefits on May 10, 2020, through an online portal but lied about his employment status. He said he was “not working” while actually working for both a factory and a local restaurant, according to his indictment.

The state commission reportedly approved the application one day after he submitted it, and Brown was sent a prepaid debit card containing his unemployment assistance. Soon after receiving the money, Brown is accused of changing all of his personal information — including his name, phone number and address — in the initial application to try and cover his tracks.

Brown then bought a cellphone using the debit card, which prosecutors said he used to make bomb threats at his jobs.

The first threat was made on July 6, 2020, to a factory where Brown worked in Sarepta, Louisiana, about 20 miles west of his hometown, the government said. A second threat was made the same day to a restaurant where he also worked in nearby Springhill.

According to the indictment, Brown made two more bomb threats to the factory on July 7, 2020, and Sept. 8, 2020.

If he is convicted, Brown faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charges and no more than 10 years for the theft of government money and explosive threats charges. Prosecutors said he also faces up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each count.