Charges in the alleged Georgia unemployment benefit system

Seven defendants have been charged in connection with a plot to defraud the Georgia Department of Labor and one has pleaded guilty, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

The defendants allegedly caused more than 5,000 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to be filed with the Georgia Department of Labor and stole $30 million in unemployment benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the DOJ. The defendants and others allegedly created fictitious employers and fabricated lists of employees using stolen personal information, the agency said.

Charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering have been unsealed,…