New York woman sentenced to probation and fines in COVID aid fraud schemes

NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors say a Brooklyn woman has been sentenced in connection with a sprawling COVID-19 fraud scheme. The 32-year-old admitted to defrauding emergency programs during the pandemic. Officials say she misused her call center job, part of a New York program meant to provide healthcare workers with isolation rooms in hotels. They say she provided free hotel rooms to people she knew weren’t eligible health care workers or COVID-19 patients, including herself. Prosecutors say she separately forged legal documents to get 30 people into public housing or into larger public housing apartments. She was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to forfeit $290,000 and pay $360,000.