Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Nelson Godfrey (age 55), of North Smithfield, pleaded nolo contendre today before Providence Superior Court Justice Kristin E. Rodgers to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500 for collecting more than $20,000 in unemployment insurance benefits while he was employed at Energy Electric Company, Inc. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Godfrey was sentenced to 10 years probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $20,201 to the State of Rhode Island.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that between May 1, 2009 and April 30, 2011, Godfrey failed to accurately report his weekly earnings to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training when he called in to the RIDLT Teleserve voice response system to authorize his weekly unemployment benefits. While Godfrey was collecting unemployment benefits he was working for Energy Electric Company Inc. located in Woonsocket, RI.
The case was initiated by fraud investigator Colleen Ferreira at the RI Department of Labor & Training, who forwarded the information to the Rhode Island State Police. The investigation was led by Rhode Island State Police Detective Kevin Kojoian and Investigator Michael Douglas and prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General Carole L. McLaughlin on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.
"Despite the recent improvement in our state's economy, we are still investigating and prosecuting individuals who knowingly defrauded the State's unemployment insurance program during the height of the recession, and we will continue to do so until every last dollar that was stolen is recovered," said Attorney General Kilmartin.
The Office of Attorney General is assigned a prosecutor devoted exclusively to prosecuting fraud cases referred by the RI-DLT involving unemployment insurance benefits fraud, workers' compensation fraud, prevailing wage violations, and labor standards violations. The prosecutor in this position is solely responsible for screening, charging, prosecuting, tracking, and reporting case results to RI-DLT and the Office of Attorney General.