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ATLANTA - An Atlanta man who earlier this year falsely claimed to his employer that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19 pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge Monday, federal prosecutors said.
The claim cost the company about $100,000 because the company had to temporarily close its facility and have four co-workers quarantine, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia said.
Santwon Antonio Davis, 35, who was charged in May 2020, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
“The defendant caused unnecessary economic loss to his employer and distress to his coworkers and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Davis, who was employed by a company with a facility located in the Atlanta, falsely claimed to have contracted COVID-19 and submitted a falsified medical record to his employer. In concern for its employees and customers, the corporation closed its facility for cleaning and paid its employees during the shutdown.
During the COVID-19 fraud investigation, agents uncovered a previous incident in which the defendant submitted fraudulent documentation to obtain benefits from his employer. Specifically, in the fall of 2019, investigators said Davis created and submitted false documentation to support a paid bereavement leave claim for the death of his child. This child never existed and was fabricated so that the defendant could obtain benefits to which he was not entitled, officials said.
While on pretrial release, officials said Davis submitted a mortgage application with numerous fraudulent statements, including a falsified earnings and employment history. The mortgage company discovered the fraud, in part, after seeing the news stories related to his original COVID-19 charge.
“Davis’ streak of lies ended when he took advantage of a pandemic to cause undue harm to the company he worked for and their employees,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.
Davis also pleaded guilty to bank fraud related to a scheme to defraud a mortgage company while he was on bond for the earlier COVID-19 wire fraud charge. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
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