A 24-year-old Florida man pled guilty to stealing the identities of 14 people to collect over $1 million in unemployment benefits and COVID-19 relief funds.
Conrad Brandon Bernard faces up to 30 years in federal prison for bank fraud convictions, to be followed by a mandatory consecutive term of two years for aggravated identity theft.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, from May 2020 through December 2022, Bernard applied for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EDIL) using the names and social security numbers of 14 people “without their knowledge or consent.“
The U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) approved Bernard’s COVID-19 relief loans and deposited the funds into multiple bank accounts per his direction. Bernard then transferred the money to accounts he created using the names of various individuals without their knowledge.
Additionally, Bernard received unemployment benefits using several victims’ names and social security numbers. The Department of Labor deposited payments to various accounts in several states.
According to the States Attorney’s office, Bernard collected $1,083,340 from EIDL and unemployment benefits.
In May of 2022, police pulled Bernard over during a traffic stop. Upon searching his car, officers found several laptops, phones, and 16 blank credit cards. Authorities then obtained a search warrant for Bernard’s
home, finding more evidence of the items Bernard could have used to carry out the elaborate scheme. Among the evidence were 43 Florida identification cards or driver’s licenses, 29 Humana insurance cards, and 31 W-2 tax forms with different names.“Bernard possessed numerous false identifications, including counterfeit passport cards, false Florida driver’s licenses and identification cards, the means to create false identification, and the PII of several thousand individuals including their names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers,” the report says.
The report did not specify how Bernard procured their personal information.
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