LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas resident was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Andrew P. Gordon to 33 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for a scheme to steal nearly $240,000 in unemployment insurance benefits.
According to court documents, on July 15, 2020, Lavell Deshon Roberts was stopped when law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle he was driving. During a search of the vehicle, officers located a pistol, $50,000 in money orders, and 10 debit cards issued by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR).
Between June and July 2020, Roberts used the debit cards to fraudulently withdraw unemployment insurance benefits from ATMs in Texas, resulting in a total loss of $238,940.
Roberts and co-defendant Corey Marcus Valrey were indicted by a grand jury in October 2022. Roberts pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Valrey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and will be sentenced on July 11, 2025.
In addition to imprisonment, Roberts was ordered to pay restitution.
United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Karon Ransom for the United States Secret Service made the announcement.
The United States Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Mina Chang and Kimberly Frayn prosecuted the case.