It all started when the company that provided professional support services to the State of Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL) employed Bryan Nushawn Ruffin and Kiara Smith, two fraudsters ready to scheme against the U.S. taxpayer during one of its worst moments in history. What does a fraudster do when someone is at their lowest? They kick them to the curb. And when the United States was at its lowest, Ruffin and Smith stole millions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
Ruffin and Smith were issued access to non-public unemployment insurance data and databases maintained by the State of Maryland Department of Labor (MD-DOL). With this privilege, Ruffin and Smith granted their friend, and fellow fraudster, Zakria Hussain access to the MD-DOL databases. All three used this privilege to change the recipient information on existing unemployment claims. This included the contact email address, online account password, and payment method for existing UI claims.
Beginning in March of 2021 until about August 2022, Hussain submitted false and fraudulent UI benefits claims using the stolen identities, fraudulently obtaining more than $3.5 million in unemployment insurance benefits. Ruffin and Smith used their access to the MD-DOL databases to upload and approve documents submitted in support of fraudulent UI claims, and remove fraud holds on UI claims.
On July 28, 2026, Hussain pleaded guilty to health care fraud. Ruffin and Smith’s trial are pending.
Great job by the U.S. Department of Labor in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Prince George’s Man Pleads Guilty to Cares Act Unemployment Insurance Fraud” published by MSN News on July 28, 2025.
Zakria Hussain, a 28-year-old resident of Prince George’s County, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a scheme that defrauded the federal government and Maryland of over $3.5 million in unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes, alongside Troy W. Springer, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, and Amanda M. Koldjeski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.
The group furthered their CARES Act fraud by exploiting victims’ personal identifying information (PII). They uploaded and approved fraudulent documents, removed fraud holds on claims, and certified weeks to secure UI payments. The MD-DOL, unaware of the deception, disbursed benefits to accounts controlled by the conspirators, believing they were aiding legitimate applicants.
