By Trish Svoboda

A Wichita man in Kansas has pleaded guilty to using fraudulent methods to get COVID-19 disaster relief funds. Court documents reveal that Jack Crowder, 34, admitted to one count of theft of government property.

Crowder confessed to submitting an application and supporting documents containing false and misleading information, receiving approximately $23,000 in COVID-19 disaster relief payments from the United States Department of Labor through the State of Kansas Department of Labor in September 2022, as stated in a release.

Scheduled for sentencing on April 3, 2024, Crowder faces a mandatory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is currently under investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Kansas Department of Labor, and the Wichita Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deb Barnett and Ola Odeyemi are prosecuting the case.