U.S. Attorney's Office Secures Conviction in Unemployment Fraud Case

ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man pleaded guilty in federal court to mail and wire fraud charges stemming from a scheme exploiting CARES Act provisions.

According to publicly available court documents, between April 2020 and October 2020, Pholopater Faltas, 26, submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance applications to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions in the names of at least eight individuals. To that end, Faltas solicited personally identifying information from these individuals, falsely promising to access benefits on their behalf. The fraudulent applications contained materially false statements to ensure approval and allowed Faltas to control the disbursed funds.

As a result of this scheme, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions disbursed at least $66,867 in unemployment benefits, which Faltas controlled through debit cards and bank accounts. Faltas misled the purported applicants about their eligibility and retained the majority of the funds for himself.

In his plea agreement, Faltas acknowledged that the offenses were related to the federal CARES Act, enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and involved the use of interstate mailings and wire communications.

The Court ordered that Faltas remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

At sentencing, Faltas faces up to 30 years in prison followed by to five years of supervised release and a fine not to exceed $1 million.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez made the announcement today.

The United States Secret Service - Albuquerque Resident Office and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case with assistance from the Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico prosecuted the case.

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