Feds indict, charge Leesburg woman in attempt to steal $11 million in unemployment scam
LEESBURG — A federal grand jury has indicted a Leesburg woman and charged her with identity theft and attempting to steal up to $11 million in unemployment compensation payments from others.
Carol Wininger, 68, did manage to fraudulently collect $500,000, according to the charging document from the Middle Florida District U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Wininger allegedly manipulated the system from July 1, 2020 to Feb. 28, 2021. The indictment charges her with stealing the names and numbers of debit card holders.
During this same almost eight-month period, she was paying thousands of dollars in restitution to state probation officials for bad check and grand theft charges, according to Lake County court records.
Did the money come from the alleged federal scheme? It is not known.
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Court records in the state case state that she defrauded Axiom Bank of $17,500. Prosecutors dropped the charges in that case once she agreed to admit guilt and pay back the money. Records include a receipt for a $9,000 money order dated July 14, 2020. She completed her state pretrial intervention contract on Feb. 11 of this year.
As for the federal indictment, it is unclear how she came into possession of three debit cards, and exactly how she allegedly claimed the unemployment benefits of others.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa said the only information available to the public at this time is what is in Thursday’s indictment.
Wininger could face up to 16 years in prison if she is convicted of three counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of unauthorized use of access devices, according to U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann.
Included in the indictment is the goal of forfeiture of Wininger’s assets to compensate the victims if she convicted. The Lake County Property Appraiser’s Office shows that she owns a house at 407 S. 6th Street. The small house, built in the 1930s, shows a value of $46,505 for the house and $16,020 for the land.
The FBI reported last year seeing a spike in fraudulent unemployment claims when the government started paying money to people who lost their jobs to COVID.
Qualified Floridians at the time could receive up to $275 per week in federal payments.
Criminals purchase stolen identification in various ways, including online from previous data breaches, computer intrusions, cold-calling victims while using impersonation scams, email phishing, physical theft of data from individuals or third parties, and from public websites and social media accounts, according to the FBI.
Many victims are not even aware they have been hacked until they try to file a claim for unemployment benefits, receive a notification from the state unemployment office, IRS, or their employer.
The federal case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, and the Leesburg Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William S. Hamilton.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Leesburg woman faces federal charges in unemployment scam
