BOSTON — A former Dracut resident who worked for the U.S. Department of Labor has pleaded guilty in federal court to fraudulently obtaining more than $45,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits while employed full‑time as a federal industrial hygienist.
Mo Yuong Kang, 50, worked for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 2016 until July 2023, earning more than $85,000 annually during the pandemic years, according to U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office. Despite that salary, he applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in April 2020, claiming under penalty of perjury that he was self‑employed, unable to work due to COVID‑19, and had not earned more than $89 a week since early March.
The Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance approved the claim, and Kang continued filing weekly certifications through September 2021, each time asserting he had no income.
In total, he received $45,868 in benefits he was not entitled to, prosecutors said.
Kang, who also formerly lived in Woburn, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston to four counts of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 11.
According to a plea agreement available in court documents, federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of four months in prison, two years of supervised release, and full restitution. Court documents note Kang has no prior criminal history and “has accepted responsibility for (his) crimes.” The wire fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Kang’s attorney, Tracy Miner, was unavailable for contact.
Foley’s office stated that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted in March 2020, provided emergency financial assistance to Americans affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic. The law created PUA, a temporary program extending benefits to people not eligible for traditional unemployment insurance. In Massachusetts, applicants were required to truthfully certify — both in their initial filing and in weekly updates — whether they had worked or received any income during each period.
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