Source: United States Department of Justice
ABINGDON, Va. – A Washington County, Virginia man, who conspired with others to file false claims for pandemic unemployment benefits authorized by the CARES Act, pled guilty today. The CARES Act is a federal law, enacted in March of 2020, that was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Richard David Michael Bland, 62, pled guilty today to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and commit an offense against the United States by filing fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment benefits as authorized by federal law.