A federal jury in the Northern District of Illinois found an Orland Park tax preparer guilty of running a large COVID-era unemployment fraud ring, with prosecutors saying nearly 700 fake claims led to more than $11 million in improper benefit payments.
The jury convicted Hiam Hmaidan, 54, after a trial that focused on a scheme tied to pandemic-era unemployment aid. Prosecutors say the case reached into 2020 and lasted through the end of 2022, and it exposed how some individuals turned emergency programs into cash machines.
According to court filings, Hmaidan and co-conspirators submitted almost 700 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims between May 2020 and December 2022. Those filings say more than $11 million in benefits were dispersed as a direct result of the phony applications, a scale that drew multiple federal law enforcement agencies into the probe.
“Hiam Hmaidan stole more than $10 million from American taxpayers during the COVID-19 pandemic through an unemployment insurance fraud scheme that submitted nearly 700 fraudulent claims,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division will continue to find and prosecute fraudsters who exploited a national crisis to steal from Federal benefit programs.”
Court documents outline an agreement among Hmaidan and others to target the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, the temporary benefit created by Congress under the CARES Act. Prosecutors described schemes that intentionally misstated claimants’ employment status and the pandemic’s impact in order to qualify for large, rapid payouts.
“Hiam Hmaidan nefariously used the identities of her tax clients and others without their knowledge or consent to steal over $10 million in unemployment insurance benefits meant to support struggling Americans,” said Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito of the U.S. Department of Labor. “Her conviction sends a clear message: my office, alongside Vice President Vance’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, will relentlessly pursue those who commit fraud and hold them accountable. Protecting the integrity of these critical programs isn’t optional — it’s our highest priority. Fraud is a tax you never voted for, and we’re coming after the people collecting it.”
Prosecutors allege Hmaidan abused her role as a tax preparer by filing claims using clients’ names and personal information without consent, then certifying eligibility she knew was false. These filings often claimed that claimants were unemployed or unable to work due to COVID-19 when that was not true.
Once approved, benefits were loaded onto prepaid debit cards that investigators say were mailed either directly to Hmaidan or to addresses she and her associates controlled. Federal agents traced withdrawals and found roughly $2.8 million in cash taken from ATMs near the conspirators’ homes, alongside other spending that helped map the network.
“This guilty verdict is justice for the American people,” said Special Agent in Charge Adam Jobes of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chicago Field Office. “Hiam Hmaidan took advantage of a program people relied on to get through a very difficult time. She and her co-conspirators stole millions from taxpayers at a time when families were struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables. Working closely with our fellow law enforcement partners, IRS-CI followed the money to expose the full scope of this scheme and helped bring it to an end. This verdict sends a clear message that if you try to cash in on a national crisis, you will be brought to justice and held accountable for your crimes.”
The jury found Hmaidan guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and five counts of mail fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 2 and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison across the counts, with a federal judge to set any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
The investigation was handled by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and IRS Criminal Investigation, and the case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Shy Jackson and Meredith B. Healy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Prosecutors have pointed to the new Fraud Division announced by the Department of Justice on April 7 as a central tool in pursuing schemes that exploited pandemic relief programs.
The Justice Department has tied this work to broader federal efforts to curb waste and abuse, noting coordination with President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a government initiative chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance. Authorities say this case is an example of the kind of enforcement they intend to keep pursuing to protect taxpayer-funded benefits.
