Dubuque man sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for Covid-19 unemployment fraud

A Dubuque man who stole government funds intended to aid unemployed workers during the COVID-19 pandemic was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa announced. Jacob Michael Laufenberg, 36, of Dubuque, was sentenced on October 28, 2026, to 33 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud on February 23, 2026. Laufenberg applied for unemployment benefits in Iowa in May 2020 and received them until April 2021. While he was receiving benefits, he concealed his employment with two employers and the fact that he was incarcerated in a county jail for nearly two months. His false statements about his employment and custody status caused him to receive unemployment funds to which he was not entitled, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. He was ordered to make $17,102 in restitution to Iowa Workforce Development and must serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Laufenberg is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.