ALBANY, NEW YORK — Carl J. DiVeglia III, 36, of Albany, was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 months in federal prison for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that defrauded the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) of more than $1.6 million in unemployment insurance benefits. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, alongside officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG).
DiVeglia, who previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, admitted to abusing his position at the NYSDOL to create and approve fraudulent unemployment insurance applications. The scheme, which took place in 2020 and 2021, included false claims under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. DiVeglia was held responsible for over $1.6 million in losses to the NYSDOL and acknowledged receiving approximately $225,000 from the fraudulent activity.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby sentenced DiVeglia to a 2-year term of supervised release following his incarceration. Judge Suddaby also ordered DiVeglia to pay $1,662,819 in restitution to the State of New York and to forfeit $225,000 to the United States.
The scheme involved multiple individuals, including Wendell Giles, another former NYSDOL employee, who was previously sentenced to 36 months in prison for his role. Additional defendants—Todd Ward, Christopher Ward, Rocco Resciniti, and Jamaine Myers—have also pled guilty to charges related to the scheme. Resciniti was sentenced to three years of probation on July 31, 2024, while the remaining defendants are scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and USDOL-OIG, with assistance from the NYSDOL Office of Special Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua R. Rosenthal and Joseph S. Hartunian.
