A Bridgeport woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud stemming from a long-running scheme her and her father ran to defraud the state of more than $300,000 in unemployment benefits.
From approximately Jan. 1995 to April 2009 Julie Hymans, 41, and her father Ralph Hymans, used aliases and fictitious companies to fraudulently file for unemployment benefits. Mr. Hymans falsely claimed that his daughter earned wages at Monroe Management, one of the fictitious companies he created.
In 2008 the Connecticut Department of Labor stopped sending unemployment checks to Mr. Hymans. In Jan. 2009 Ms. Hymans contacted the Department of Labor to inquire about the interruption of unemployment benefits and requested that they be reinstated, according to court records. She requested that the benefits continue and was able to convince the Department of Labor to mail nine unemployment insurance checks.
Mr. Hyman pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud for his role in the scheme on March 24.
Ms. Hyman is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 23. She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
The case was prosecuted in U.S. District Court because the U.S. Department of Labor oversees the Unemployment Insurance System and the federal government funds all administrative costs, including salaries and office expenses for the employment offices.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul McConnell and Christopher Mattei.