Justin Heimbach, 34, of Bath, pleaded guilty on Thursday in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, to charges relating to defrauding the U.S. government of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program funds that were established during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heimbach entered the plea to charges of mail fraud and wire fraud, six counts and four counts, respectively, before U.S. Judge John M. Younge and is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

According to U.S. Attorney David Metcalf, Heimbach was charged with the offenses by indictment in August 2024, after authorities alleged he schemed to defraud the federal government and multiple local car dealerships.

Court records show he operated a construction company called TeamKJ Construction, during which time he filed fraudulent PUA applications in the names of people no longer employed by the company as a result of the pandemic. Authorities said the applications contained a number of materially-false statements relating to applicants losing their jobs due to COVID-19.

They said Heimbach also successfully defrauded multiple Lehigh Valley car dealerships by purchasing vehicles in the names of other construction companies registered to or associated with him, and writing checks for those vehicles on bank accounts that had an insufficient balance to cover the transaction.

The PUA program was created when congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in March 2020. It provides unemployment benefits to individuals not eligible for regular unemployment compensation, or extended unemployment benefits.

The case was jointly investigated by the Pa. Department of Labor and Industry, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Chandler Harris.