Two Dunkirk men are being charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and theft of government funds.

On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced that a federal grand jury returned the indictment on Lamont Brown, 37, and Jesus Ramos, 41. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Franz M. Wright, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, between July and October 2020, during the COVID pandemic, Brown and Ramos conspired with others to defraud the United States and Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources.

Brown and Ramos recruited individuals who had never lived or worked in Puerto Rico to use their personally identifiable information (“PII”), including their names, social security numbers, and dates of birth, to apply for, obtain, and attempt to obtain Unemployment Insurance benefits from the Puerto Rico Department of Labor. They provided the PII to individuals in Puerto Rico to complete applications for unemployment insurance and utilized existing bank accounts or opened new bank accounts to deposit the unemployment checks received. The banking institutions included Lake Shore Savings Bank, Key Bank, and Inner Lakes Federal Credit Union.

Brown and Ramos stole, or attempted to steal, a total of $67,000 from the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources.

Brown and Ramos were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and were released on conditions.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone, Northeast Region.