6 Rhode Islanders charged in COVID unemployment insurance schemes [The Providence Journal]

A federal grand jury has indicted six Rhode Islanders in an alleged pandemic unemployment insurance fraud scheme spanning multiple states.

Those charged - who live in Providence, North Providence, Pawtucket and Lincoln - are accused of filing fraudulent claims online for federal pandemic assistance funds, receiving tens of thousands of dollars.

The defendants are alleged to have falsely claimed that they had worked in the states where they had applied for assistance.

Derrick Gadson, a 35-year-old North Providence resident, allegedly turned in applications in Rhode Island, Arizona and Massachusetts, collecting nearly $28,000.

Francois Parker, 35, of Providence, allegedly filed for benefits in Rhode Island, California, Arizona, Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, New York, Virginia, Wisconsin, Nevada and Massachusetts, receiving more than $77,000 from six of those states.

Rashaad Smith Muskelly, 30, of Lincoln, allegedly filed for benefits in Rhode Island, California, Arizona, New York, Texas, Virginia, Nevada and Massachusetts, raking in nearly $83,000.

Three others - Jamel Newman, 23, of Pawtucket; Darren Robinson, 21, of Providence; and Rashaad Hill, 21, of Providence - are accused of conspiring with one another to defraud pandemic unemployment assistance programs in California, Arizona, Nevada and Massachusetts.

The charges come about five months after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland launched the Justice Department's COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, intended to crack down on phony applications.

According to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, more than $70 million has been paid out in confirmed unemployment insurance fraud.

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