Fall River Man Pleads to Unemployment Insurance Benefit Fraud

Mario Pacheco (age 55),  of 291 Peckham Street, Fall River MA, pled nolo contendere Friday before Providence Superior Court Magistrate Patrick T. Burke to one count of larceny over $1,500 for collecting approximately $14,500 in unemployment insurance benefits while he was working for Rhode Island Nurseries.  Pacheco was sentenced to 10 years probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $14,497 to the State of Rhode Island.

Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that between March 24, 2007 and April 14, 2012, Pacheco failed to report any of his weekly earnings to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training when he called into the DLT Teleserve voice response system to authorize his weekly unemployment benefits.  While Pacheco was collecting unemployment benefits he was working for Rhode Island Nurseries in Middletown, RI.
 
UI Fraud Investigator Colleen E. Ferreira initiated the investigation for DLT and referred it to Detective David M. Gormly of the Rhode Island State Police Auto Theft and Insurance Fraud Unit.    Special Assistant Attorney General Genevieve Allaire Johnson prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General and the State of Rhode Island.  Funded by DLT, Allaire Johnson prosecutes all unemployment insurance fraud, worker’s compensation fraud, prevailing wage violations and labor standards fraud cases.

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