WHITE PLAINS – Six men Westchester County men, who were working as seasonal workers, have been charged with theft of unemployment benefits.
Charged were Armando Escobar, 58, of Mount Vernon; and Cesar Martinez, 50; Hector Torres-Alcarez; Federico Martinez, 56; Alvaro Munguia, 28; and Christian Mungala, 30, all of New Rochelle. They were all released on their own recognizance.
From 2010 to 2016, each man allegedly claimed unemployment benefits from the state Department of Labor by falsely certifying on line or having others falsely certify online that they were present in the county when in fact they were overseas. A person must be present in the United States as an additional eligibility requirement in order to receive unemployment benefits.
The total amount of unemployment benefits stolen collectively by the six amounted to $49,780.
