COLUMBIA, S.C. — A federal grand jury in Columbia has returned an indictment against nine current or former inmates in the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) and six others for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The 51-page indictment alleges beginning in March 2020 and continuing through December 2020, the nine inmates engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain various COVID-19 unemployment benefits administered through the South Carolina Department of Employment and Work Force (SCDEW) and similar agencies in Arizona, California, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
It also alleges the defendants conspired and coordinated with other inmates and friends and relatives outside of SCDC to submit unemployment claims to SCDEW using the Personal Identification Information (PII) of both inmates in SCDC and individuals outside the prison system.
PII -- social security numbers and dates of birth -- of other inmates was "harvested" by those named in the indictment -- without some other inmates' knowledge -- and used to apply for COVID-19 unemployment benefits. Other inmates provided their PII in exchange for a portion of the proceeds from the unemployment benefits.
PII of others outside of the SCDC system was used for various extortion schemes. In one scheme known as "Johning," SCDC inmates used contraband cellphones to pose as younger men or women to lure people into sending them nude or compromising photos. Once the inmates had the images, they would contact the victim posing as law enforcement and extorted them to send them money and pictures of their social security cards and driver's licenses.
The non-incarcerated individuals named in the indictment would use the names of the extorted victims and SCDC inmates to receive unemployment benefits through government checks and pre-paid VISA debit cards.
The indictment alleges the fraudulent scheme resulted in a loss of approximately $4,996,673.00 to the United States Government.
The specific charges in the indictment are as follows:
- Reginald Raynard White, Jr., an SCDC inmate, faces twenty counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Christopher Ford, an SCDC inmate, faces one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Marvin Lee Trotter, an SCDC inmate, faces two counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Dawn Hall, of Kansas City, MO, faces ten counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Benika Kershaw, Chester, SC, faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Albert J. Cave, Jr., an SCDC inmate, faces one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Jason Andrew Cash, an SCDC inmate, faces eight counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Stepheno Lemain Alston, an SCDC inmate, faces seven counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- James Griffin, an SCDC inmate, faces five counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- John Travis Mace, an SCDC inmate, faces four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Ronald Gene Harvey, an SCDC inmate, faces four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Bridgette Cash, of Landrum, SC, faces one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Latasha Alston, of St. Helena Island, SC, faces eight counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Lori Robinson, of Monroe Township, NJ, faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
- Jessica Howell, of Southport, NC, faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Each alleged count of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000.
