DETROIT, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – “Stealing money from pandemic benefit programs is a serious offense that harms both the intended beneficiaries and taxpayers,” says U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison in an official statement concerning former tax preparer, Christopher Niebel’s, guilty plea to fraud and identity theft relating to a pandemic unemployment insurance fraud scheme in the state of Michigan.

45-year-old “Tax Guy Chris,” who also worked seasonally as a manager of a Party City, used information from employees and applicants who applied to work at the store to create more than 100 fake unemployment claims and apply for pandemic money.

MORE NEWS: Michigan’s Loveland Difference Maker in Rivalry Win Over MSU

In doing so, he was able to defraud the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency in the amount of about $512,000.

Julia Dale, the Director of the UIA (Unemployment Insurance Agency), expressed astonishment at the extent of pandemic-related fraud schemes.

“At the onset of the pandemic, when countless individuals sought assistance, Chris Niebel’s sole focus was exploiting the system for personal gain,” she said, adding there are about 160 others who have faced charges relating to similar unemployment fraud.

Niebels’ sentencing is scheduled for May 21 before United States District Judge Stephen J. Murphy III. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years for wire fraud and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft, to be served consecutively.