Investigators say a Metro Detroit duo has been tied to hundreds of suspected bogus jobless claims across 32 states totaling over $4 million. And when things went sideways, investigators say a series of texts between the two captured the moment the alleged scheme hit panic mode.
Shawn Carter, 38, of Woodhaven, and Danielle Thomas, 36, are now charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to a special agent with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
How the feds say it started
Federal investigators say it started with online unemployment insurance (UI) claims, filed fast, in bulk, and sometimes in other people’s names, then turned into money on Bank of America debit cards that could be drained at ATMs.
In a criminal complaint filed Aug. 1, 2026, in federal court, the U.S. Department of Labor special agent working out of Detroit described how unemployment benefits are commonly paid — often by debit cards issued by Bank of America and mailed through the U.S. Postal Service.
The feds said electronic transfers are moved through data centers in Virginia and Colorado, which is why the movement of those funds can be framed as interstate wire communications.
Investigators said the alleged fraud took advantage of the massive pandemic-era expansion of unemployment benefits from March 2020 through Sept. 4, 2021, when federal programs pumped large supplemental funds to states.
Digital and financial footprints lead to Detroit
Investigators said they determined Carter and Thomas were associated with hundreds of suspected fraudulent claims between March 15, 2020, and March 10, 2022. The digital and financial fingerprints included common IP and email addresses, bank accounts, home addresses and “similarities in claim information.”
For Carter, agents said they identified at least 68 suspected fraudulent UI claims filed in his name using his Social Security number and the Social Security numbers of other people.
For Thomas, investigators said they identified at least 25 suspected fraudulent UI claims filed in her name using her Social Security number and the Social Security numbers of others, plus an additional 26 suspected claims tied to her home address.
Debit cards and ATM images of cash withdrawals
The feds said the fraudulent claims generated debit cards that were mailed to Michigan addresses, then used to withdraw cash in metro Detroit.
In one California claim tied to Detroit, a Bank of America unemployment debit card was allegedly mailed there, and $20,100 in benefits was deposited into the debit account.
Bank of America handed over ATM surveillance photos of a withdrawal made with that card on Aug. 25, 2020, which, according to federal investigators, showed Carter as the person in the images. They also said they linked a gold necklace Carter was wearing to an image on Carter’s phone.
In multiple instances, the complaint said, Bank of America debit cards were mailed to Detroit addresses and then used in cash withdrawals in Michigan, and investigators determined Carter was the person on surveillance images making those withdrawals.
In another case, a California claim was listed at a Detroit address, and $20,400 was deposited on July 23, 2020. But investigators said the person whose name was on the claim was later interviewed, and they said they did not receive benefits and did not give anyone permission.
The feds also said another “Shawn Carter” — a victim — was interviewed, too. A Hawaii claim filed Nov. 18, 2020, allegedly used the Social Security number of another man named Shawn Carter, and that an image of a Hawaii claim in his name was found on Thomas’ phone. The feds said they later interviewed the victim, Shawn Carter, on July 8, 2024, and he said he was a victim of identity theft and that he did not file any claim.
The Dearborn arrest and what police say they found
On Oct. 12, 2021, Dearborn police were dispatched to the Dearborn Federal Credit Union after a report of “a fraud in progress,” according to the complaint.
A woman, later identified as Danielle Thomas, was apparently using a fraudulent credit card to withdraw money. When officers arrived and asked for ID, the feds said Thomas gave them “a counterfeit Pennsylvania Driver’s License.” They said the name on the ID was real, but it had Thomas’ photo on it.
Police arrested Thomas for fraud and obstruction of justice, and during the arrest, officers said they discovered multiple fake driver’s licenses with Thomas’ picture on them. They said they also found several California UI debit cards in names of other people — including one matching the name on the counterfeit Pennsylvania license.
Police said they also took Thomas’ phone. After a search, police said they found notes and images with personal identifying information, claim information, email accounts tied to claims, and conversations about unemployment fraud — including conversations between Thomas and Carter.
The texts: ‘Delete all your messages’
The complaint included text message exchanges investigators say show the two coordinating debit cards and withdrawals.
On Oct. 5, 2021, the feds said Thomas, and a phone number registered to Carter, exchanged messages that appeared to be about a Bank of America unemployment debit card tied to a claim:
- CARTER: “You at home need that T.L. [name redacted] card”
- THOMAS: “Yeah I’m home”
- CARTER: “Ok”
- CARTER: “The one you got ain’t locked is it”
- THOMAS: “idk”
- CARTER: “Send me the back of the card on telegram so I can check”
- THOMAS: “Ok”
Then came the messages from Oct. 12, 2021 — just prior and leading up to Thomas’ arrest, the feds said. It allegedly starts as Carter tells her he’s headed to Detroit:
- CARTER: “On my way to the city”
- THOMAS: “Ok”
- CARTER: “Meet me at shop”
- THOMAS: “Ok”
- CARTER: “Bring the M****** [name redacted] one”
- THOMAS: “Ok”
Then, as the two allegedly discuss which banks work, the messages get more specific:
- THOMAS: “It just decline”
- CARTER: “I just activated the one at my mom house this the card that work they sent two”
- THOMAS: “Chase Ford rd”
- CARTER: “Before Telegraph”
- THOMAS: “Yeah”
- CARTER: “Meet me at the boa right there”
A few lines later:
- THOMAS: “It’s good I only could do 5k”
- CARTER: “Ok bet chase should be good now”
- THOMAS: “It DC in chase but it worked in dfcu”
- CARTER: “Ok so dfcu and tcf it out”
And then, abruptly:
- THOMAS: “The police here”
- CARTER: “Huh”
- CARTER: “On my way”
- THOMAS: “They going through my car but I’m in the police car”
- CARTER: “What was all in there”
- THOMAS: “Cards money ids”
- CARTER: “Is they gon give me your car”
- CARTER: “Can you call”
- THOMAS: “No I’m sneaking texting you I’m handcuffed”
- CARTER: “Delete all your messages”
- THOMAS: “OK”
A separate search at Carter’s home
The feds said they later searched Carter’s Woodhaven home on July 13, 2023, with the help of Northville Township police (under a state warrant tied to bank fraud and check fraud). They said Carter was there when they arrived. Police said they seized “dozens of fake ID cards, banking documents associated with fraudulent accounts, cashier’s checks and counterfeit social security cards,” along with electronic devices later searched under a federal warrant for evidence of unemployment fraud.
The exact dollar figure
In total, the feds said, “approximately $4,117,788 in UI benefits were disbursed on claims associated with the duo.
Both Carter and Thomas are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 7, 2026, at 1 p.m. in Detroit.