Troy man pleads guilty to unemployment insurance fraud

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Troy man pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Todd Ward, aka Fats, 45, allegedly obtained unemployment insurance benefits under someone else's name.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says Ward is accused of providing Carl DiVeglia III with the personal information of someone else, which was used to file a false claim on the NYSDOL website. This falsely filed claim resulted in $152,086 being issued in unemployment insurance benefits, which Ward has agreed to pay New York in restitution according to his plea agreement.

Ward faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release following sentencing on November 14.