A former Massachusetts-based Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) employee was indicted Tuesday in connection with obtaining over $45,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Mo Yuong Kang, 50, formerly of Woburn and Dracut, is charged with one count of wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.
Kang worked for OSHA as an industrial hygienist from June 2016 to July 2023, earning yearly salaries ranging from a little under $87,000 to a little less than $91,000, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. He is accused of submitting a false unemployment assistance application in April 2020 despite his employment with the federal government.
In the application, Kang claimed he was “self-employed, an independent contractor, or a gig worker” whose ability to work normally was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. He is also alleged to have claimed that he had not earned more than $89 a week since March 8, 2020.
Kang’s unemployment application was approved, and through September 2021, he submitted weekly certifications to the federal government claiming that he had not worked that week or earned any income, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Based upon his application certifications, he received $45,868 in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits that he was not entitled to.
Kang faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of as much as $250,000 if convicted of wire fraud. His arraignment in federal court in Boston has not yet been scheduled.
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