Federal investigators arrested the head of a nonprofit for allegedly scamming COVID-19 relief programs out of $1.5 million. Westchester resident Reginald Foster Jr, 37, is accused of working with a pair of accomplices to submit jobless benefits applications. In some cases, the suspects allegedly used stolen identities, according to the United States Department of Justice.
Foster allegedly submitted 118 fraudulent applications during the scheme. In return, he received debit cards and used them to obtain benefits through his nonprofit, Champs Up! LLC. He also used the cards to make $1,000 withdrawals from ATMs before sending them to his accomplices so they could use them to make further withdrawals. They allegedly withdrew nearly $1.5 million before the benefits were frozen.