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According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about March 24, 2020, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lomax applied for unemployment compensation after he was laid off as a sales manager at a St. Albans auto dealership. Lomax legitimately received unemployment benefits until the week ending April 25, 2020, when he returned to work, but continued to apply for unemployment benefits through at least July 18, 2020.

As part of his guilty plea, Lomax admitted that he falsely certified to WorkForce West Virginia, which administers the unemployment compensation program for the State of West Virginia, for 13 consecutive weeks that he was entitled to unemployment benefits. Lomax submitted the false certification answers while using his personal electronic device in St. Albans.

Lomax fraudulently obtained approximately $13,312 in unemployment benefits, including supplementary funds provided by the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program (FPUC) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Lomax admitted that he used the fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits to make purchases and pay his bills.

Two of LomaxÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s co-workers, his father Gary Lomax, 63, of Hurricane, and Christopher Grant, 42, of Buckhannon, previously pleaded guilty to similar pandemic-related unemployment compensation fraud schemes. Gary Lomax was sentenced on Nov. 19, 2024, to five years of federal probation, including four months on home detention, and ordered to pay $29,592 in restitution for theft of public money, property or records. Grant was sentenced on Nov. 25, 2024, to five years of federal probation, including four months on home detention, and ordered to pay $35,168 in restitution for conspiracy to steal public money, property or records.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the WorkForce West Virginia Integrity Section, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General (NASA OIG), the Litigation Financial Analyst with the U.S. AttorneyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Office, and the West Virginia State ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).

NASA OIG is an active member of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force. The PRAC was established to promote transparency and facilitate coordinated oversight of the federal governmentÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s COVID-19 pandemic response. The PRACÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s 20 member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending, including spending via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. This case was also supported by the PRACÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence, which applies the latest advances in analytic and forensic technologies to help OIGs and law enforcement pursue data-driven pandemic relief fraud investigations.

US District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant US Attorney Andrew J. Tessman and former Assistant US Attorney J. Parker Bazzle II prosecuted the case.

Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: .