Date: June 24, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
Baltimore, MD ¡ª Today, U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced David Godin, of Miami, Florida, aka ¡°James St Patrick,¡± ¡°David Wetty,¡± and ¡°Vic Pro,¡± to 78 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Godin pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) and California Employment Development Department (CA-EDD). Judge Maddox also ordered Godin to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $1,087,345.66 and restitution of $1,137,894.56.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor¡¯s Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG).
According to the plea agreement, from June 2020 through November 2023, Godin engaged in a sophisticated scheme to defraud the MD-DOL and CA-EDD by using the personal identifiable information of identity theft victims, anonymous email addresses, virtual private networks, and proxy servers. This enabled Godin to file numerous fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims with multiple states from a single location; aggregate UI information in discrete accounts; and avoid fraud safeguards put in place by state UI insurance programs.
Godin submitted and caused the submission of at least 140 fraudulent UI claims to MD-DOL, CA-EDD, and other state workforce agencies, resulting in more than $2.3 million in UI benefits. He obtained well over $1 million through the fraud scheme. As the United States set forth in its sentencing submission, Godin used the money to buy nice things and live a life of luxury. Godin then recorded himself with the spoils of his fraud, including stacks of cash, expensive watches, and sports cars.
The District of Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the IRS-CI and DOL-OIG for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bijon A. Mostoufi and Jared Murphy, who prosecuted the case, and recognized Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber for her assistance and legal support.
IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attach¨¦ posts abroad.