Feds Charge 8 In $25 Million Prison-Based EDD Payment Rip-Off Scheme
FRESNO (CBS SF) -- Eight defendants have been charged by federal prosecutors with submitting over $25 million in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in the identities of inmates, minor children and others to the California Employment Development Department during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a superseding indictment unveiled Friday, Cecelia Allen, 33, of Downey; Fantasia Brown, 33, of Los Angeles; Tonisha Brown, 28, of Los Angeles; Fantesia Davis, 32, of Victorville and Shanice White, 28, of Hawthorne have been added to the case.
Daryol Richmond, 30, an inmate at Kern Valley State Prison; Telvin Breaux, 29, an inmate at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi and Holly White, 30, of Los Angeles, had previous been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft related to the scheme.
According to court documents, the EDD claim applications falsely stated that the inmates, minor children and others previously worked as clothing merchants, handymen and other jobs and recently became unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The defendants allegedly created fictitious email accounts and used different physical addresses throughout Southern California for the fraudulent claims.
After the defendants received the debit cards for the claims in the mail, they made cash withdrawals at different locations, on different days and times, and in varying amounts all to avoid detection by government authorities. The defendants spent the money on vehicles, furniture, handbags, jewelry, and other items and services.
If the defendants are convicted of the conspiracy to commit mail fraud, they each face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
If convicted of the aggravated identity theft, they each face a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence.
