Melrose Man Sentenced for Unemployment Insurance Scam

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts:

BOSTON – A Melrose man was sentenced today in connection with his role in an unemployment insurance fraud scheme.

Alan Neal Scott, 68, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 87 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On July 1, 2021, Scott pleaded guilty to four counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and five counts of aggravated identity theft.

Over the course of six years, Scott submitted numerous fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Scott submitted these claims using his own identity as well as the identities of various individuals, including some who were not eligible for unemployment benefits because they were incarcerated at the time and could not have been employed. Moreover, the fraudulent claims all reported prior employment at a non-operational Massachusetts-based business also associated with Scott. As a result of these fraudulent claims, the DUA sent unemployment benefits funds to several addresses connected to Scott and deposited funds into accounts he controlled. Scott also submitted fraudulent pandemic unemployment insurance claims in the names of others.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigation; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Jermaine Jack, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Unemployment Assistance, Program Integrity Unit also provided assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.