Three Metro Detroit women are facing federal charges in connection with a conspiracy that investigators said pumped more than $450,000 in suspected fraudulent pandemic benefits out of Michigan’s unemployment system.
In a federal complaint and arrest warrant unsealed April 22, 2026, investigators said it all started with an online “digital footprint:” an internet address tied to a home in Eastpointe.
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A Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General said in a criminal complaint filed April 17, that Lela Lewis, Letora Liggins and Mesa Allen took part in a scheme that “resulted in the outlay of over $450,000” in suspected fraudulent benefits from March 2020 to approximately October 2021.
Investigators said some claims were filed from an internet address subscribed to Liggins at her Eastpointe home, while other activity traced back to an…
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