Female trio in Inland Empire charged with fraud over $1.2 million in COVID benefits to inmates

Female trio in Inland Empire charged with fraud over $1.2 million in COVID benefits to inmates

Prosecutors charged three Inland Empire women in separate schemes in which they allegedly raked in a combined $1.2 million in COVID-related unemployment benefits using the names of California inmates.

Federal prosecutors charge 3 So-Cal women with using prison inmates' names to cheat EDD out of unemployment benefits

Much of that fraud has been in California, where state auditors in January said the troubled Employment Development Department approved at least $810 million in the names of roughly 45,000 inmates, some of them on death row.

3 women charged with illegally obtaining over $1.2M in unemployment benefits in names of inmates

Three Inland Empire women were arrested and charged this week for illegally obtaining COVID-related unemployment benefits in names of prison inmates and scamming the California Employment Development Department out of a combined $1.2 million, federal prosecutors allege.