Scrambled Messages | New York | Unemployment Fraud

Messaging apps that use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) are all the rage. Apps like Signal, WhatsApp, Confide, Telegram use technology that scramble messages so only the intended end-user can read them. With features like automatic message deleting, screenshot and message sharing prevention, along with no government server storage, data is safe for anyone and everyone looking to protect personal information, keep details private or combat cyber threats. Ironically, it’s the very same technology that fraudsters use to purchase stolen identities, collaborate with co-conspirators, and launch a scheme.

Bryan Abraham with his co-conspirators executed a multi-million unemployment scheme using E2EE applications. Using chat rooms in Telegram, Abraham and his co-conspirators first purchased 250 personal identifying information (PII) of victims. After filing for unemployment benefits using the stolen PII, they communicated on Telegram details concerning the scheme, including logistics on how to withdraw fraudulent funds and the financial institutions deposit instructions – details that were important in a $1.75 million stolen unemployment benefit scheme!

Abraham and his co-conspirators regularly traveled to ATMs together to withdraw thousands of dollars from the benefit KeyBank cards. In the end, authorities caught wind of the scheme when Abraham and his fellow fraudsters flaunted their ill-gotten gains on social media, posing with stacks of cash, designer clothing, jewelry, and luxury cars. Should have stayed with E2EE apps!

On May 23, 2025, Abraham was sentenced to five years in prison for unemployment fraud.

Excellent job by the US. Postal Inspection Service in this case.

Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Brooklyn Man Sentenced to Five Years for $1.75M Unemployment Fraud During COVID-19 Pandemic” published by Hoodline New York City on May 23, 2025.

A Brooklyn man, Bryan Abraham, was recently sentenced to a five-year prison term for his role in a $1.75 million Covid-19 unemployment fraud case. Along with the prison sentence, Judge William F. Kuntz II also mandated that Abraham forfeit over half a million dollars and pay an equivalent amount in restitution. The sentence follows Abraham’s guilty plea earlier in January 2023, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Abraham, along with his accomplices, exploited relaxed unemployment benefit laws during the COVID-19 pandemic, swindling the New York State Department of Labor. According to a report by the Justice Department, the fraudsters managed to quickly advance their scheme, stealing the identities of over 250 victims.