Man pleads guilty to federal wire fraud charges after lying to his employer about having COVID-19

Back in the Spring, I blogged here about an Atlanta man charged with wire fraud for misrepresenting to his employer that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

Here are some more details from the press release:

The defendant, who was employed by a Fortune 500 company with a facility located in the Atlanta, Georgia area, falsely claimed to have contracted COVID-19 and submitted a falsified medical record to his employer.  In concern for its employees and customers, the corporation closed its facility for cleaning and paid its employees during the shutdown. This caused a loss in excess of $100,000 to the corporation and the unnecessary quarantine of several of the defendant’s coworkers.

Innocent until proven guilty, I said.

Well, last week, the feds announced here that the man pled guilty.

According to the press release, the Justice Department also uncovered “a previous incident in which the defendant submitted fraudulent documentation to obtain benefits from his employer.  Specifically, in the fall of 2019, the defendant created and submitted false documentation to support a paid bereavement leave claim for the death of his child.  This child never existed and was fabricated so that the defendant could obtain benefits to which he was not entitled.”

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

Some of you must have stories about employees who lied about something or other at work, which ended up costing the company time and money. But, for 2020, this may take the cake.