A Northampton County man admitted Thursday to defrauding the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program and several Lehigh Valley car dealerships, according to authorities.
Justin Heimbach, 34, of Bath, pleaded guilty in federal court to six counts of mail fraud and four counts wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Heimbach, who was charged in August 2024, operated a construction company called TeamKJ Construction, and filed PUA applications in the names of people allegedly no longer employed by the company because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the release states. The applications had false statements, including that the applicant lost their job with TeamKJ because of the pandemic and the date they lost their job, authorities said.
Heimbach also defrauded a number of Lehigh Valley car dealerships by buying vehicles in names of other construction companies registered or associated with him, and writing checks for those vehicles on bank accounts that did not have enough money to cover the transaction, the release states.
He will be sentenced in June.