8 women, including a former Department of Labor employee, are accused of nearly $620,000 in unemployment fraud

Puerto Rico. – A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico indicted eight women, including a former employee of the Department of Labor and Human Resources (DTRH), for their alleged participation in a fraud scheme that allowed the illegal obtaining of $619,923 in unemployment compensation, as well as the payment of bribes to a public official. The information was confirmed by Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, who detailed that the defendants conspired to submit false unemployment claims through the use of third-party identities, fraudulent employment information, and manipulation of the DTRH’s internal system. According to the indictment, Luz Garay-Osorio, who worked at the Department of Labor at the time of the events, took advantage of her access to the system to alter claims, facilitate benefits to family members and other people, and submit fraudulent applications. In exchange, she allegedly received bribe payments totaling approximately $142,507.

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The scheme included the participation of family members and other co-conspirators, who illegally received unemployment benefits and subsequently transferred part of the funds to Garay-Osorio’s bank account, according to the indictment. The former employee faces multiple federal charges, including conspiracy to steal federal funds, honest services mail fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Following the discovery of the fraud, Garay-Osorio was fired from the government agency. Federal authorities continue to prosecute the case, while reiterating their commitment to combat fraud against public assistance programs and safeguard the correct use of federal funds.