California Prisoners Ran $1.4 Million COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits Racket

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Two Californian prisoners were indicted for attempting to steal $1.4 million in unemployment aid.

With the help of a Los Angeles resident, the inmates managed to collect over $270,000 by stealing other prisoners’ identities.

Department of Justice press release said:

The indictment charges Daryol Richmond, 30; Telvin Breaux, 29; and Holly White, 30, with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. Richmond and Breaux are inmates at the Kern Valley State Prison and California Correctional Institute, respectively. White resides in Los Angeles. The indictment was unsealed today following White’s arrest.

According to court documents, the underlying applications for the claims falsely stated that the inmates worked within the prescribed period as clothing merchants, handymen, and other jobs, and were available to work. To avoid detection, the defendants created fictitious email accounts and used different physical addresses throughout Southern California for the fraudulent claims. In some cases, they paid family members and associates up to $1,000 to use their physical addresses. The actual loss to the EDD and United States is over $270,000.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan provided for enhanced, $300-per-week federal unemployment insurance. As the United States economy recovered from COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession, the unemployment aid distorted labor market recovery as Americans grew reluctant to seek new positions. Thousands of Americans in Republican-led states are currently filing suit against their governors for opting out of the enhanced payments.- READ MORE

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