Jason Smith: “Yesterday, my colleagues introduced an amendment that would limit prosecution of fraud cases with at least $100,000 in…”

“Yesterday, my colleagues introduced an amendment that would limit prosecution of fraud cases with at least $100,000 in stolen funds. Apparently, Mr. Speaker, Democrats want to give some criminals a get- out-of-jail-free card. Let me give you an example of what that looks like. A woman from Rockford, Iowa, was sentenced to more than a year in prison for receiving $45,000 in unemployment benefits from eight different States using stolen identities and laundering the proceedings through cryptocurrency. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a September 20, 2022, release from the United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Iowa titled: ``Iowa Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for COVID-19 Related Benefit Fraud and Money Laundering.'' Tuesday, September 20, 2022. Iowa Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for COVID-19 Related Benefit Fraud and Money Laundering mendenhall received over $45,000 in fraudulently obtained benefits and laundered most of the funds by purchasing cryptocurrency A Rockford, Iowa woman who received unemployment benefits in other people's names, and laundered most of those funds through cryptocurrency transactions, was sentenced September 20, 2022, to more than a year in federal prison. Stephanie Mendenhall, age 53, from Rockford, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 24, 2022, guilty plea to four counts of theft of government funds and one count of money laundering conspiracy.…”