A social media podcaster who stole millions of dollars from the federal government in an unemployment fraud scheme will spend years behind bars for the crime.
Jonathan Dupiton, who hosted the “Rich and Unemployed” podcast on various platforms under the motto “F.R.A.U.D. is Dope” (acronym for âFinally Rich After Unstoppable Determinationâ), will spend seven years in prison for duping the federal government out of $3.8 million.
Federal prosecutors say the scheme began in 2020, when the 36-year-old was already serving a federal sentence at a halfway house for a previous fraud conviction targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
During that time, he orchestrated another scheme that targeted California’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits program, which provided temporary financial assistance to lawful workers who became unemployed. The program expanded its benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scheme began in July 2020 and lasted into early 2021.
The feds say Dupiton obtained stolen identities of “hundreds of unwitting individuals” and then used that information to submit fraudulent applications electronically to the California unemployment system.
He also used a virtual private network (VPN) to mask his IP address and actual location to evade detection by law enforcement.
Once the UI claims were approved, Dupiton and his co-conspirators would have the debit cards containing the benefits sent to mailing addresses in North Georgia, including his own home.
After he received the debit cards, he and his co-conspirators went to various ATMs, mostly located in metro Atlanta, and withdrew the fraudulently obtained funds.
In total, the federal government transferred roughly $3.8 million in UI benefits to Dupiton through the state. He withdrew and spent about $2 million of those funds.
Dupiton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on January 13.
Earlier this month, a judge sentenced him to seven years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
He’ll be ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a future hearing.
âJonathan Dupiton orchestrated a brazen scheme to steal millions in unemployment benefits using the stolen identities of innocent victims, all while already serving a sentence for fraud,â said Marlo Graham, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.
âAt a time when Americans were facing unprecedented financial hardship, he chose to exploit a critical safety net for personal gain. The FBI remains committed to identifying and holding accountable those who abuse public assistance programs and undermine trust in systems designed to help those in need.â
In 2017, Dupiton was sentenced to nearly four years in prison after using stolen identities to steal more than $395,000 from the U.S. Department of Agricultureâs Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
After illegally obtaining the benefits, he cashed them at convenience stores he owned in several Georgia communities.
