CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A 28-year-old man has been charged with mail fraud after allegedly receiving nearly $100,000 in fraudulent benefits from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The U.S. District Attorney's Office said sometime in May, William Peck got a P.O. box at the Portairs Station in Corpus Christi. Within weeks, authorities noticed Peck's P.O. box was receiving a large volume of mail from TWC, but the mail was addressed to several different individuals, according to court records.
Court documents further allege that claims for 85 different individuals were submitted to TWC for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), all listing Peck’s P.O. Box as their address on file.
An investigation revealed several of those 85 applicants were listed under the same name but had different social security numbers. Numerous applications also had Texas addresses, however, further investigation revealed the social security numbers provided weren't associated with anyone who lived in Texas, court records read.
TWC allegedly paid out approximately $95,000 for PUA claims listing Peck’s P.O. Box as the address.
If convicted of mail fraud, Peck faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
He is expected to make his initial appearance before a judge Friday.
