Woliver pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and making false statements in connection with emergency benefits between May 2020 and February 2021. The defendant was ordered to pay $29,076 in restitution to the Virginia Employment Commission, the same amount owed jointly and severally by co-defendants Farren G. Ricketts and Jonathan Ricketts in related cases.
Judge Ballou imposed concurrent 24-month sentences on both counts but ordered the federal term to run consecutively to a sentence Woliver received in Lee County Circuit Court. The judge recommended that Woliver receive drug and mental health treatment while imprisoned and be designated to a facility close to home within his security classification.
The case stems from a broader scheme involving multiple defendants who allegedly made false statements to obtain emergency benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Count 5 of the indictment was dismissed on motion of the United States, and Woliver will serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
The sentence includes special supervision conditions requiring Woliver to provide financial information to probation officers, avoid new credit without approval, and potentially participate in additional rehabilitation programs. The case reflects federal prosecutors' continued focus on pandemic benefit fraud schemes that targeted emergency assistance programs.