In the District Court of Guam, former Guam Department of Labor employee Jerome Michael Cruz was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for attempting to obtain $93,000 in pandemic unemployment assistance and federal pandemic unemployment compensation benefits.

"I don't buy it, I really don't," Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood told Cruz. "And the fact that you bought a Camaro sports car to go to work, that is totally irresponsible and you should be ashamed of yourself. This is very reprehensible--your conduct is unforgivable."

It was just some of the chief judge's last words before sentencing 26-year-old Cruz.

Cruz is accused of committing Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation or FPUC fraud in September of last year. He pled guilty to federal program theft and accessing protected computer in furtherance of fraud.

At the time of the incident, Cruz was employed full-time by GDOL as a customer service representative, in which during the COVID-19 pandemic he assisted customers with PUA and FPUC claims.

According to court documents, he allegedly submitted an application for PUA and FPUC benefits and falsely certified that he was unemployed and was eligible for the federal assistance.
On October 13, 2020, Cruz was transferred within GDOL and lost his access to the PUA and FPUC computer system, but it didn't stop him. Cruz allegedly used the login credentials of other GDOL employees to access the department's computer system for processing.

As stated in court, under this access he modified existing PUA claim orders for multiple people including his mother and father and changed the payment method from paper check to direct deposit into his bank account.

He ultimately received about $14,000 in benefits and attempted to obtain an additional $79,000 for a total intended loss of $93,000.

The assistant federal public defender Leilani Lujan motioned for a downward variance, asking for a more lenient sentence, stating that the reason why he committed the crime was because of financial challenges.

The government opposed the variance, as they are already recommending the low end of the sentencing guidelines. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Petersburgh stating that on Nov. 5 the defendant was confronted by GDOL and was terminated but even so afterward he continued to file fraudulent claims.

Cruz addressed the court, stating that he knew what he was doing was wrong at the time, but he was going through financial problems and was behind in rent. The chief judge questioned why Cruz bought a Camaro with the money, and he stated that he needed it to get to work. But the court wasn't buying it.

Tydingco-Gatewood denied the defense's motion and said "long story short you were an agent, you were a public servant assigned to the Department of Labor and this money was supposed to be used for people to survive. You took advantage of your position."

The judge sided with the government and sentenced the defendant to 10 months imprisonment and a three-year supervised release term on both counts to run concurrently.

The court also ordered Cruz to pay back every single amount of money taken from DOL within the next three years.