A Waterbury man named Olajuwon Harrington has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for stealing almost $800K in pandemic unemployment benefits. U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams also ordered two years of supervised release following Harrington’s prison term. Court records revealed that Harrington submitted numerous fraudulent applications to the Connecticut Department of Labor for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance without the victims’ knowledge. The Department of Labor distributed the funds in the form of debit cards in the victims’ names and mailed them to addresses given in the applications. Harrington then illegally obtained these debit cards and used them for his own benefit. His arrest occurred on Nov. 30, 2022, and he pleaded guilty to access device fraud on May 10, 2023. In addition to the prison sentence, Harrington has been ordered to pay restitution of $793,254.