A man who stole more than $200,000 by stealing Mainer’s identities and committing unemployment fraud was sentenced to 4 ½ years in federal prison Tuesday.
James McAuliffe, 55, stole Mainer’s identities and filed false unemployment claims from the backroom of a laundromat in Kansas. He took advantage of the increase of money available during the COVID-19 pandemic and stole from taxpayers, Assistant United States Attorney Sean Green said.
McAuliffe was sentenced to 2 ½ years for each of the six counts of wire fraud and 2 years for six counts of aggravated identity theft by Judge Lance Walker in U.S. District Court in Bangor. The wire fraud sentences will be served concurrently, then McAuliffe will serve the identity theft time concurrently.
He pleaded guilty to the counts in August and will serve those sentences concurrently. He will have to pay $203,616 in restitution.
“I apologize to you (Walker), the government, the court, my family, my dog,” McAuliffe said at his sentencing. “It was a mistake … but I’m not belittling it, I take full responsibility for it.”
McAuliffe would steal the identities of people in Maine, change their addresses on government records and then file for unemployment under their names, Green said. There were 51 victims of identity theft and 26 successful unemployment claims, said Daniel Dube, McAuliffe’s attorney.
During the time McAuliffe was committing the fraud, he was also using fentanyl, Dube said.
“This was a crime of opportunity,” Dube said. “It was a crime by an addict. He’s smart but this was an astoundingly simple crime to execute that had outsized consequences.”
He wasn’t using the money to make extravagant purchases, Green said. The money was likely spent for drug-induced reasons or drugs.
McAuliffe needs to change his habits, stay sober and turn his life around, Walker said. Time in prison may give him the chance to be rehabilitated.
“This is not a good medium or long term life strategy for you,” Walker said.
There was a spike in fraud when the government provided relief money during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government isn’t able to catch and prosecute everyone. However, this case is a reminder that if someone is caught, they will be prosecuted fully, Green said.
