A Georgia man was accused Tuesday in a federal indictment of filing fraudulent coronavirus-related unemployment claims from his former home in south suburban Homewood.

Robert Carter, 27, is charged with multiple counts of wire fraud, according to a criminal complaint that says he filed for unemployment benefits in Maryland, despite having no connection to the state.

The complaint alleges he received debit cards in the mail, and withdrew thousands of dollars from ATMs in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.

Carter is also accused of filing for CARES Act unemployment benefits in Illinois, Virginia, Ohio, California and Arizona.

The CARES Act, signed into law last March, expanded unemployment benefits due to income loss related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The allegedly fraudulent claims resulted in more than $506,000 in benefits being sent to claimants, such as Carter, “who were not entitled to unemployment benefits,” according to the complaint against Carter, which does not name other claimants.

Federal investigators identified 28 claims in Maryland that traced back to the address for Carter’s Homewood residence, the criminal complaint alleges.

They also obtained a warrant for his Instagram page and found messages about the unemployment fraud, the complaint says.

One Instagram message read: “Withdrawing 14K a day off unemployment,” the complaint alleges. He also messaged someone: “Let’s do some fraud I’ll help you.”

Carter is scheduled for an initial appearance in federal court on Friday.

mabuckley@ chicagotribune.com