Destiny Harris, a Delray Beach, Florida woman, has been arrested over COVID-19 unemployment fraud she committed during the pandemic by accessing PPP assistance she didn’t qualify for.
Harris reportedly fraudulently received nearly $20,000 in unemployment benefits despite the fact that she was working through the pandemic.
Four years later, on September 12th, 2024, officers of the Delray Beach Police Department knocked on her door with a warrant for unemployment fraud. Harris is seen in tears as she told her mom she cannot go to jail.
Destiny Harris’ story was told in a true crime video by the YouTube channel Bandit Cam, which revealed that the fraud occurred back in 2020 when Americans unable to work during the pandemic where given the opportunity to file for unemployment benefits.
Four people from Delray Beach reportedly abused the program which was picked up by a financial investigator with the Department of Economic Opportunity.
The investigator informed detectives in Delray Beach who commenced an investigation into the alleged fraud.
Following their investigation, detectives issued subpoenas to the phone providers of the alleged fraudsters to receive their details. One was found to be a victim of identity theft while the other three filed for benefits themselves. The investigators discovered that all three had been working fulltime and received full wages, making them ineligible for the PPP assistance they had filed for and received.
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Detectives contacted Destiny who claimed that she had not filed for any benefits. However, her bank records showed she had received $19,975 in PPP assistance despite being employed at the time.
An interview was scheduled with a Detective for January 2023 but Harris refused to show up. She subsequently refused picking up any calls from law enforcement when contacted. A letter sent to her address was also returned.
Destiny went on living her life but eventually, officers arrived at her home with a warrant for her arrest.
Her arrest and subsequent events were chronicled in the Bandit Cam video which can be watched below…
Social media users who watched the video had varying degrees of reactions from those calling for forgiveness to those saying it serves her right.
“It’s all fun & games until you get caught now you wanna cry,” one user said.
Another wrote: “So what I can’t even say I’m mad at her given the state the world was in around that time … so many people losing jobs , homes , cars … families with kids they still gotta provide for … Might not be right but I ain’t even mad”