EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — A Special Agent with the Department of Labor has pleaded guilty to a fraud scheme.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said on Tuesday that 49-year-old Thomas Hartley, from East Stroudsburg, pleaded guilty Tuesday to mail fraud connected to multiple alleged schemes.
According to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Hartley confessed to collecting a total of $197,366 from multiple fraud schemes.
Between April 2020 and September 2021, he applied for and collected funds from Pennsylvania unemployment compensation benefits by stating to be unemployed while he was a full-time active-duty New Jersey National Guard, said attorney Karam.
Attorney Karam mentioned Hartley failed to report he was on military leave from his full-time federal civilian employment with the United States Department of Labor. In that time, he was able to collect $60,284 in funds from unemployment compensation that he was not eligible for, Karam said.
Hartley is also accused of fraudulently collecting $23,582 from Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) which is paid for by the Department of the Army, $50,000 in “lost wages” benefits paid by USAA insurance, and $63,500 from his Thrift Savings Plan, attorney Karam added.
Attorney Karam said in August 2022 the jury issued a second indictment charging Hartley for submitting false documents to the Department of the Army and collecting $23,580 in housing allowance funds for which he was ineligible to receive while on leave from his position with the Department of Labor and serving with the New Jersey National Guard.
In addition to the charges, Attorney Karam said he was charged with fraud in connection with the filing of a lost funds claim with USAA Insurance claiming he lost funds from an accident when he was suspended without pay from his employment with the Department of Labor for an ongoing criminal investigation.
Lastly, attorney Karam states Hartley was charged for fraudulently collecting funds from his Thrift Savings Plan by stating he was not married while he was married the whole time and moved the funds to his personal account without his wife’s knowledge or consent.
The law states the maximum sentence for mail fraud is 20 years followed by a term of supervised release after being in prison and a fine.
