PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Lehigh Valley contractor was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for schemes that defrauded pandemic unemployment programs and multiple automobile dealerships, resulting in nearly $600,000 in restitution.
Justin Heimbach, 34, of Bath, Pennsylvania, was sentenced Tuesday to 76 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $598,257 in restitution, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge John M. Younge.
Heimbach pleaded guilty in February to six counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud after being charged by federal indictment in August 2024.
According to court filings, Heimbach operated TeamKJ Construction and orchestrated a scheme involving fraudulent applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits created under the CARES Act.
Prosecutors said applications were filed in the names of individuals purportedly laid off from TeamKJ Construction because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In reality, the filings contained false information, including claims that applicants had lost their jobs because of pandemic-related disruptions.
Federal authorities also alleged that Heimbach defrauded multiple car dealerships in the Lehigh Valley by purchasing vehicles through construction companies he owned or controlled and paying with checks drawn on accounts that lacked sufficient funds.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program was established by Congress in 2020 to provide benefits to workers who did not qualify for traditional unemployment compensation programs.
The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and the FBI’s Allentown Resident Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Chandler Harris prosecuted the case.
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