A Pitt County resident has pleaded guilty to charges of theft of government property after submitting more than 65 fraudulent pandemic unemployment benefit claims. Shontavia Riddick, 32, admitted in federal court to defrauding the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security (NCDES) by requesting over $340,000 in unemployment benefits through false applications and supporting documents.
The case was presented before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II in Wilmington, North Carolina. Riddick now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison at her upcoming sentencing later this year.
“When people lie, cheat, and steal taxpayers’ money that should be used to support actual struggling citizens, it undermines the whole system,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “We cannot allow individuals to loot the cellar to get fat while starving people go without. Not in Eastern North Carolina.”
The investigation is being conducted by the United States Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Ontjes is prosecuting the case.
Additional information and related court documents are available on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or through PACER by searching for Case No. 4:25-CR-19-M.
