North Providence man sentenced to 18 months in prison after stealing $20K in COVID-19 relief funding

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorney General Peter Neronha and United States Attorney Zachary Cunha said Tuesday that a North Providence man was sentenced to serve up to 18 months in prison after stealing over $20,000 in COVID-19 relief funding.

Derrick Gadson, 35, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to serve 18 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of federal supervised release. He also is required to pay $20,727 in restitution.

Gadson plead guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government money back in April. He told a judge that he was collecting unemployment in Rhode Island, began filing for benefits in both Massachusetts and Arizona, and fraudulently claimed that he lived and worked in those states.

He collected a total of $20,727 in unemployment benefits that he wasn’t entitled to.