BOSTON — A former corrections officer who worked for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department has pleaded guilty to pandemic unemployment and load fraud, the U.S. Attorney said.
Jasmine Murphy, 39, of Boston, pleaded guilty in federal court to seven counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement on Thursday.
Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Paycheck Protection Program benefits Murphy obtained before working at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the unemployment benefits she received before and during her employment there.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns scheduled sentencing for July 9.
Murphy was indicted in December along with another officer, Christnel Orisca. Orisca pleaded guilty in November and is scheduled for sentencing on May 12.
Murphy worked as a corrections officer with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department from January 2022 to December 2024.
Before her employment with the sheriff’s department, prosecutors said Murphy fraudulently applied for pandemic unemployment and small business loan benefits while working for trucking and workforce services companies.
While working at the sheriff’s department, Murphy fraudulently collected unemployment benefits for a brief period of time early in her tenure.
In total, Murphy obtained approximately $44,346 in unemployment benefits and small business loan funds to which she was not entitled, prosecutors said.
In their applications for pandemic unemployment, both Murphy and Orisca lied about their employment status and thereafter falsely claimed, on a weekly basis, that they did not work and did not receive any income during the prior week, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said in their PPP loan applications, Murphy and Orisca submitted false statements to SBA-approved lenders, including false information about the income and/or payroll of their purported small businesses, to obtain their loans.
According to the charging documents, they also made false representations on forms submitted to request that their PPP loans be forgiven.
For each charge of wire fraud, Murphy faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
For the charge of making false statements to a financial institution, Murphy faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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