The final defendant in a scheme involving fraudulent pandemic unemployment benefit claims has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, Virginia. Jason Dale Worley, 47, of Meadowview, received a sentence of 12 months and one day in prison on October 9, 2025. He was also ordered to pay $9,698 in restitution to the Virginia Employment Commission for benefits obtained through fraudulent claims.
This sentencing concludes the prosecution of a group of 17 individuals who were charged with defrauding the United States by filing false pandemic unemployment claims. The conspiracy involved submitting fraudulent applications using personal identification information from inmates at local jails and acquaintances of the conspirators.
Crystal Shaw, identified as one of the lead organizers, was previously sentenced to five years in federal prison—the statutory maximum—and ordered to pay $287,459 in restitution. Other co-defendants received sentences ranging from 12 months and one day up to 48 months. Jonathan Webb, who recruited others—mainly inmates—to participate in the scheme, was sentenced to four years and ordered to pay $150,218. Josef Brown received a sentence of nearly three years and must pay $119,660.
The total amount stolen through these activities amounted to $341,205 in pandemic relief funds that were not legally owed to the defendants. All those convicted have been ordered to repay amounts corresponding to their fraudulent activity.
Court documents show that between March 2020 and September 2021, Crystal Shaw, Jonathan Webb, and Josef Brown orchestrated a plan using collected personal information from inmates at SWVRJA-Haysi and Abingdon facilities as well as friends or associates. They used this data on the Virginia Employment Commission website to file false claims for benefits intended for those impacted by COVID-19 job losses.
The investigation was conducted under the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Task Force by the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. PRAC’s inspectors general are responsible for identifying risks across programs related to over $5 trillion spent on COVID-19 relief efforts nationwide. According to figures from the U.S. Department of Labor, Virginia paid about $1.1 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims between April 2020 and March 2021 (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oig/publications/spotlight/20220825).
Multiple agencies assisted with this case including the Dickenson County Sheriff’s Office; Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority; FBI; U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General; and Virginia Employment Commission.
Announcing these sentences were Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci; Ian Kaufman from FBI Richmond Division; Syreeta Scott from DOL-OIG Mid-Atlantic Region; and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.
Special Assistant United States Attorney M. Suzanne Kerney-Quillen—a Senior Assistant Attorney General—and Assistant United States Attorney Danielle Stone prosecuted this case.
