Albany Man Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Fraud, Identity Theft, and Falsely Endorsing Stolen Treasury Checks

ALBANY, NEW YORK –Collins Bozil, age 26, of Albany, pled guilty today to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and forging endorsements on Treasury checks, for fraudulently obtaining pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits and purchasing stolen tax refund checks issued by the United States Treasury.

United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge, Northeast Region, United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG); Jeffrey Burr, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of the United States Secret Service (USSS); and Michael Carpenter, Special Agent in Charge, Northeast Field Division, Department of the Treasury, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), made the announcement.

Bozil admitted that from about April 2020 through April 2021, he fraudulently obtained over $143,000 in unemployment insurance benefits. Bozil admitted that he used cryptocurrency to purchase the personal identifying information (PII) of five people. Bozil used the stolen PII to file for unemployment insurance benefits with the New York State Department of Labor.

Bozil also admitted to purchasing five stolen tax refund checks worth more than $9,000, which he falsely endorsed before depositing into bank accounts he owned and controlled.

Bozil agreed to pay $143,178 to the State of New York, $3,225 to the United States Department of Treasury, and $6,075 to the victims whose identity he stole.

Bozil faces at least 2 years and up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

The case was investigated by USDOL-OIG, USSS, and TIGTA. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew M. Paulbeck and Joseph S. Hartunian are prosecuting the case.