Inmate Guilty of Pandemic Fraud During Incarceration Sent Back to Prison

MACON, Ga. - A Valdosta, Georgia, resident who was serving a federal prison sentence for drug trafficking and gun convictions when he illegally obtained money from a pandemic unemployment program was sentenced to prison this week for his crime.

Isaac Camon, 49, of Valdosta, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison for one count of wire fraud plus 36 months in prison for revocation of his supervised release for a total of 72 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on March 14 by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. "Tripp" Self, III. The defendant is not eligible for parole.

"Our office has prosecuted individuals responsible for millions of dollars of CARES Act fraud, money earmarked to help sustain hard-working and law-abiding citizens during the historic pandemic," said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. "Working with our law enforcement partners, our office will continue to root out fraud and hold individuals accountable for these criminal schemes."

"Camon clearly has no regard for the law, as he decided to defraud the State of Georgia during a national emergency while he was still serving time for drug trafficking," said Rich Bilson, Supervisory Senior Resident of FBI Atlanta's Valdosta office. "This lengthy sentence demonstrates the FBI's relentless pursuit of justice and will hopefully put an end to Camon's career as a criminal."

According to court documents, on June 16, 2020, Camon filed a fraudulent online claim for federal and state pandemic unemployment assistance with the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL). In the claim, Camon falsely asserted he worked for two companies during a time period when he was actually serving a federal sentence in a prison, a halfway house or on home confinement for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance in the Middle District of Florida. Camon never reported any work income for tax purposes and one of the companies Camon claimed to work for wasn't in operation at the time he stated he was employed by them. Camon is being held accountable for an intended fraud loss of $19,452; the restitution amount payable to the Georgia Department of Labor is $16,322.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

This case was investigated by FBI Atlanta's Valdosta Resident Agency, the U.S. Department of Labor-OIG, the U.S. Department of Transportation-OIG and the Lanier County Sheriff's Office.

Criminal Chief Leah McEwen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McCullers prosecuted the case for the Government.