Allen Park's 'Tax guy Chris' pleads guilty to identity theft and unemployment fraud
The former Allen Park building where Chris Neibel ran his business.
FOX 2 (WJBK) - Allen Park's "Tax guy Chris" has pleaded guilty to doing more than just taxes. Christopher Niebel pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft charges on Feb. 20.
Investigators said Niebel, 45, created more than 100 fake unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. Niebel used them to receive $512,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits which he was not entitled to. The business
Niebel pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to US Attorney Dawn Ison, from the Eastern District of Michigan. The scheme involved him using stolen identities to submit fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance benefits during the pandemic.
Niebel also worked seasonally as a manager for Party City, a New-Jersey-based retail chain selling party supplies.
Through his employment at Party City - where he had worked for a number of years - Niebel had access to the files of individuals who had worked or applied to work at the company.
The files included the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s I-9 employment verification forms of Party City employees and applicants, in which the applicants documented their eligibility for employment in the United States.
In 2019 authorities say Niebel stole a number of the I-9 forms from Party City, which contained a substantial volume of personal identifying information of the applicants including names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth.
Niebel filed these documents away for his future use and once Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds became available, he used the info he had appropriated from Party City to defraud the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency by submitting fictitious claims for those benefits.
Ison said Niebel submitted electronic applications seeking pandemic unemployment benefits using the personal information of applicants for jobs with Party City, without the authorization, approval, or knowledge of those individuals.
Niebel intentionally used the personal information of individuals not from Michigan in submitting the claims, because of the fact they would be unlikely to have submitted their own unemployment insurance claims in Michigan, which made detection less likely.
Niebel opened numerous bank accounts in Michigan in order to capture the PUA funds, which were wired to those accounts.
Related: Allen Park 'tax guy' busted for fraudulent tax claims
After capturing the pandemic unemployment benefits from these fraudulent applications, Niebel spent the money on a variety of personal expenses, including food, lodging, lottery tickets, and casino gambling,
"Stealing money from pandemic benefit programs is a serious offense that harms both the intended beneficiaries and taxpayers. Doing so by stealing people’s identities further compounds the harm to the public," said U.S. Attorney Ison. "Today’s guilty plea is an important step towards ensuring accountability for Mr. Niebel’s crimes."
"Christopher Niebel fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits by submitting claims using the names of identity theft victims," said Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. "Niebel directed that the stolen benefits be deposited into bank accounts under his control. We will continue to work with our law enforcement and state workforce agency partners to protect the integrity of unemployment insurance benefit programs."