NEWARK, NJ — A former U.S. Postal Service USPS employee admitted that he conspired to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced April 14. Ross Clayton, 31, of Irvington, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Julien X. Neals to an information charging him with conspiring to commit wire fraud.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Clayton, who was a USPS employee at the time, took unemployment insurance benefits–related mail, including debit cards, from a USPS location in New Jersey and used that mail to obtain unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.
The charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of at least $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 7.
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