DETROIT – The US Attorney’s office in Detroit has charged 39-year-old Brandi Hawkins of Detroit as a key figure in a scheme to defraud the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency of millions of dollars.
Hawkins was hired as a contract worker for the state’s unemployment agency in April 2020. The feds say she used her access to sign off on $2 million in fraudulently filed claims.
When federal agents went to her Detroit home they found $200,000 in cash and numerous new high end luxury items.
“This case is about fraud, it’s about theft and what it really boils down to is this is the money of the taxpayers,” US Attorney Matthew Schneider said. “This is the people’s money that the people expect is going to go to people who are suffering in the pandemic.”
Where’s the rest of the missing millions? The federal investigation is ongoing in tracking down everybody who received fraudulent funds as part of the scheme.
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