Amanda Kincell and Casey Fike of West Virginia Indicted for Wire Fraud - Facing 20 year sentence

Amanda Kincell and Casey Fike were charged today by a federal grand jury with multiple counts of wire fraud. According to the indictments, Kincell and Fike filed for unemployment in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the DeVito Dental office to temporarily close. In May 2020, Kincell and Fike returned to a regular work schedule at Devito but continued to request and receive unemployment benefits. Kincell is accused of improperly accepting more than forty payments totaling $18,350. Fike is alleged to have accepted more than twenty improper payments totaling $10,388.

Amanda Kincell and Casey Fike face 11 counts of fraud

Kincell faces eleven counts of wire fraud while Fike faces six counts.  Each count carries a penalty of up to twenty years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine the sentence after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

WorkForce West Virginia investigated the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Conklin is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government.

“We continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to methodically review every instance where COVID fraud is suspected, whether it’s related to unemployment benefits, paycheck protection loans, or economic injury disaster loans,” said United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld. “I appreciate the tips provided by the public and encourage their continued submission.”

An indictment is merely an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Content retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/dental-office-employees-charged-covid-unemployment-fraud

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