MIAMI – On March 6, 2025, Conrad Brandon Bernard, a 24-year-old resident, was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison. In addition, he has been ordered to make restitution and forfeit assets totaling $1.08 million following his conviction for bank fraud and identity theft related to a scheme that fraudulently acquired more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief loans and unemployment compensation.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program was established to provide financial assistance to small businesses and eligible entities facing economic hardship. Concurrently, the U.S. Department of Labor implemented unemployment insurance programs to support individuals who became unemployed without fault on their part, provided they met specific eligibility criteria.
From approximately May 2020 until December 2022, Bernard orchestrated a fraudulent operation targeting both the EIDL and unemployment insurance programs. He submitted false applications for fourteen EIDLs using the names and personal identifying information (PII) of unsuspecting individuals. Upon approval from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), funds were disbursed to various bank accounts controlled by Bernard, which he had opened using the stolen identities without the consent or knowledge of those individuals. He subsequently transferred these funds to other accounts under his control, which were also opened with the names and PII of other victims.
In addition, Bernard illicitly accessed unemployment benefits from several states, including West Virginia and Arizona, utilizing bank accounts he established with the same stolen identities. The unemployment benefits were fraudulently acquired because the applications were submitted using the names and PII of others without their awareness or approval. In total, Bernard fraudulently obtained $1,083,340 from EIDL loans and unemployment benefits.
During the investigation, law enforcement officials uncovered numerous counterfeit identifications in Bernard’s possession, including fake passport cards, false Florida driver’s licenses, and identification cards. Additionally, he had the means to produce false identifications and held PII for thousands of individuals, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Acting U.S. Attorney Sara C. Sweeney for the Middle District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Conklin of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Miami Field Office, and Sheriff Gregory Tony of the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO).
The DSS Miami Field Office and BSO conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deric Zacca from the Southern District of Florida and Suzanne Nebesky from the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting this case. Asset forfeiture proceedings are being managed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitchell Hyman.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General initiated the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to coordinate resources from the Department of Justice alongside other government agencies to enhance efforts in combating and preventing pandemic-related fraud. This Task Force strengthens initiatives to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors while assisting agencies responsible for administering relief programs in preventing fraud through various means such as improved coordination, resource identification, and information sharing derived from prior enforcement actions. For further details regarding the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit [https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus](https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus).
On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General appointed the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to lead one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. This initiative is designed to bolster existing measures against COVID-19 related financial fraud by combining law enforcement and prosecutorial resources to target large-scale, multistate fraud orchestrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The Strike Force employs prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those responsible for stealing pandemic relief funds.
