SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Officials announced a former Special Agent with the Department of Labor was sentenced to prison for multiple schemes to commit a $197,000 fraud.
According to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam, 49-year-old Thomas Hartley, of East Stroudsburg, previously pleaded guilty to obtaining a total of $197,366 through multiple fraud schemes.
Between April 2020 and September 2021, Hartley collected Pennsylvania unemployment compensation benefits by claiming that he was unemployed, when in fact Hartley was employed on full-time active duty with the New Jersey National Guard, police said.
Investigators stated Hartley applied for unemployment benefits, and failed to disclose that he was on military leave from his full-time federal civilian employment with the United States Department of Labor.
Hartley collected around $60,284 in unemployment compensation funds to which he was not entitled, as stated in the release. Hartley also fraudulently obtained $23,582 in Basic Allowance for Housing funds paid by the Department of the Army, $50,000 in “lost wage” benefits paid by USAA insurance, and $63,500 from his Thrift Savings Plan.
Officials note Hartley, while on leave from his position with the Department of Labor and serving with the New Jersey National Guard, submitted false documents to the Department of the Army and thereby obtained approximately $23,580 in housing allowance funds to which he was not entitled.
Hartley was sentenced to 33 months of prison.
