Springfield woman sentenced for stealing unemployment benefits with stolen identity

A Springfield woman was sentenced to three months in federal prison after investigators said she used another person’s identity to collect more than $27,500 in unemployment benefits and cut off that victim’s access to other aid. Jamianne MacKenzie, 41, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay more than $30,000 in restitution.

Court records say the fraud rippled beyond unemployment insurance. After a claim was filed under the victim’s Social Security number in December 2020, the Oregon Department of Human Services was notified in March 2021, and the victim was unable to receive more than $2,500 in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. In Lane County, where many households depend on state safety-net programs to bridge job loss or family emergencies, the case shows how one false claim can trigger a chain of damage for the person whose identity was used, as well as for taxpayers and legitimate claimants waiting for help.

The case moved through federal court in Eugene after a grand jury returned an indictment on Feb. 20, 2025. MacKenzie later pleaded guilty before her sentencing in U.S. District Court on June 11, 2026, to theft of government property. First Assistant U.S. Attorney William Narus prosecuted the case, and U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford announced it for the District of Oregon.

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General’s COVID Fraud Unit worked the case. Federal prosecutors also pointed to the National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force, which the U.S. Department of Justice says was created in response to the unprecedented scope of unemployment insurance fraud and brings together agencies including the FBI, IRS-CI, USPS and SSA-OIG.

The broader losses are still being tallied nationwide. A Department of Labor inspector general audit said audited state workforce agencies reported $10.4 billion in pandemic unemployment overpayments from April 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2022, including $676.3 million tied to fraud. Oregon officials say identity-fraud victims often first notice trouble through an unexpected letter, a benefit check or an incorrect Form 1099-G. The Oregon Employment Department says it publishes annual fraud reports and asks people to report suspected unemployment fraud right away.

For Lane County residents, the warning signs are concrete: mail about a claim you never filed, payments you did not expect, or tax forms tied to unemployment benefits you never received. Those red flags can mean someone else has already used a Social Security number, and the sooner the fraud is reported, the sooner state and federal agencies can move to limit the damage.