Schaller, Iowa — A Schaller man who received and transferred over $35,000 in fraudulently obtained CARES Act unemployment funds from multiple states was sentenced this past week to five years in federal prison.
According to federal authorities, 61-year-old Alvin Lavon Rex received the prison term after a December 18, 2020, guilty plea to one count of mail fraud.
In a plea agreement, and at his plea and sentencing hearings, Rex admitted
he opened multiple bank accounts in the Storm Lake area in May and June
2020. Authorities say he received over $35,000 in unemployment benefits in the names of other individuals from Arizona, Ohio, and Massachusetts, then withdrew the
benefits in cash and mailed the cash through the United States Postal Service. Rex also admitted that, in the months preceding the pandemic, he had received a
false and fraudulent tax refund in the name of another person and cashed
counterfeit checks at local banks.
As a part of his plea agreement, Rex agreed to make full restitution to those banks.
He was sentenced in Sioux City United States District Court to 60 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to pay $63,070.03 in restitution. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
