Belen man gets 41 months for $177,000 unemployment fraud scheme

A Belen man is headed to federal prison after prosecutors said he built a sprawling unemployment-fraud scheme around stolen identities, false job records and bank accounts opened in other people’s names.

Joseph Anthony Martinez, 44, was sentenced to 41 months in prison on April 15 after pleading guilty to wire fraud, mail fraud and theft of government property. He also was ordered to pay $177,956 in restitution, complete community service, pay a $300 special penalty assessment and serve five years of supervised release after he gets out. Federal officials said there is no parole in the federal system.

Court records show Martinez submitted 21 fraudulent unemployment insurance applications through the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions between June 18, 2020, and Oct. 15, 2021. He used his own name, variations of his name and the stolen identities of other people. Prosecutors said he also altered and pursued a legitimate application filed by another person without that person’s knowledge.

To make the scheme work, Martinez provided false employment information and opened bank accounts in other individuals’ names so the benefits payments would be routed to him. Federal authorities said he collected more than $177,000 in improper payments before the fraud was uncovered.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, with help from the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions and the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison announced the sentence, and Deputy U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley prosecuted the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.

The sentence lands as federal prosecutors continue pursuing pandemic-era unemployment fraud in New Mexico, a problem that has strained the state system for years. State officials have warned that identity theft tied to unemployment claims drives up taxes for businesses, hurts legitimate claimants and puts extra pressure on the unemployment trust fund. During the pandemic, New Mexicans reported surprise benefit cards and fraudulent claims filed in their names as the state system was overwhelmed by a flood of applications.

The Justice Department said the case fits a broader crackdown on fraud against taxpayer dollars, including the creation of a National Fraud Enforcement Division on April 7. In New Mexico, the Martinez case adds another Valencia County name to a growing list of defendants whose crimes exposed how easily stolen identities can be used to drain public benefits programs.