Court filing
Declaration of Laura G. Brys — In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation (Dkt. 590-1, S.D. Cal. No. 3:21-md-02992)
Filed October 17, 2025 in In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation; one of 1415 filings from this case.
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2025-10-17 |
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California · No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB · Doc. 590-1 · 2025-10-17 · Docket on CourtListener
Full text
BRYS DECL. ISO RJN CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 UNITED STATED DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO DIVISION IN RE: BANK OF AMERICA CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS LITIGATION Case No. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB DECLARATION OF LAURA G. BRYS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.’S REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE Date: April 17, 2026 Time: 1:30 p.m. Ctrm: 12A – 12th Floor Judge: Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel JAMES W. MCGARRY (pro hac vice) JMcGarry@goodwinlaw.com GOODWIN PROCTER LLP 100 Northern Avenue Boston, MA 02210 Tel.: +1 617 570 1000 Fax: +1 617 523 1231 SABRINA M. ROSE-SMITH (pro hac vice) SRoseSmith@goodwinlaw.com MATTHEW L. RIFFEE (pro hac vice) MRiffee@goodwinlaw.com GOODWIN PROCTER LLP 1900 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Tel.: +1 202 346 4000 Fax: +1 202 346 4444 Attorneys for Defendant BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. GOODWIN PROCTER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB Document 590-1 Filed 10/17/25 PageID.39865 Page 1 of 7 1 BRYS DECL. ISO RJN CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 I, Laura G. Brys, hereby declare as follows: 1. I am an attorney licensed to practice before this Court. 2. I am a senior attorney at Goodwin Procter LLP, attorneys of record for Defendant BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. (BANA) in this action. 3. I make this declaration in support of BANA’s Request for Judicial Notice filed concurrently and in support of its Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. I have personal knowledge of the matters set forth in this Declaration and/or upon a review of non-privileged records kept by Goodwin Procter LLP in the regular course of its business, and if called upon to do so, I could and would testify competently to the same. 4. BANA’s Exhibits to this Declaration shall be referred to as “RJN” in BANA’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and its supporting documents. Materials Published by Government Entities 5. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of California State Auditor Report 2020-502, dated November 19, 2020. The report is available through the California State Auditor’s website at https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2020-502/index.html (last accessed October 17, 2025). 6. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of California State Auditor Report 2020-628.2 titled Significant Weaknesses in EDD’s Approach to Fraud Prevention Have Led to Billions of Dollars in Improper Benefit Payments, dated January 2021. The report is available through the California State Auditor’s website at https://information.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2020-628.2.pdf (last accessed October 17, 2025). 7. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 3 are true and correct copies of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) press releases and advisory notices, dated between March 16, 2020 and February 24, 2021. The press releases are available through FinCEN’s website at https://www.fincen.gov/news/press- GOODWIN PROCTER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB Document 590-1 Filed 10/17/25 PageID.39866 Page 2 of 7 2 BRYS DECL. ISO RJN CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 releases (last accessed October 17, 2020). The advisory notices are available at through FinCEN’s website at https://www.fincen.gov/resources/ advisoriesbulletinsfact-sheets/advisories (last accessed October 17, 2025). 8. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force’s guide titled Unemployment Insurance Fraud Consumer Protection Guide, dated September 21, 2020. The guide is available through the Department of Labor’s website at https://www.oig.dol.gov/public/Unemployment%20Insurance%20Fraud %20Consumer%20Protection%20Guide,%20Final.pdf (last accessed October 17, 2025). 9. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of the U.S. Secret Service’s alert titled Massive Fraud Against State Unemployment Insurance Programs, dated May 14, 2020. The alert can be found in the Congressional Record Vol. 169, No. 180 (May 11, 2023) at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC- 2023-05-11/html/CREC-2023-05-11-pt1-PgH2281.htm (last accessed October 17, 2025). A copy of the alert was produced in this litigation at Bates No. BANA_EDD_MDL-00205361. 10. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) report titled The Consumer Credit Card Market, dated December 2015. The report is available through CFPB’s website at https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201512_cfpb_report-the-consumer- credit-card-market.pdf (last accessed October 17, 2025). 11. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of a Congress.gov report titled Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic, dated August 20, 2021. The report is available through Congress’s website at https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46554 (last accessed October 17, 2025). 12. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of EDD’s news release No. 20-49 titled EDD Announces Reset in Response to Strike Team GOODWIN PROCTER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW GOODWIN PROCTER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB Document 590-1 Filed 10/17/25 PageID.39867 Page 3 of 7 3 BRYS DECL. ISO RJN CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Recommendations to Process Claims Faster, Reduce Fraud and Tackle Backlog Issue, dated September 19, 2020. The news release is available via Wayback Machine at https://web.archive.org/web/20220319041344/https://edd.ca.gov/About_EDD/ pdf/news-20-49.pdf (last accessed October 17, 2025). 13. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of the EDD’s news release No. 24-06 titled EDD benefit payments now issued on new Money Network prepaid debit cards, dated February 15, 2024. The news release is available through EDD’s website at https://edd.ca.gov/en/about_edd/news_ releases_and_announcements/news-24-06/#:~:text=Payroll%20Tax%20Webinars- ,EDD%20benefit%20payments%20now%20issued%20on%20new%20Money %20Network%20prepaid,is%disabled%20in%20your%20browser (last accessed October 17, 2025). 14. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 10 is a true and correct copy of the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Payments Study, released November 2024. The study is available through the Federal Reserve’s website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/frps_previous.htm (last accessed October 17, 2025). 15. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 11 is a true and correct copy of the Legislative Analyst’s Office’s report titled Legislative Oversight of Ongoing Challenges at EDD, dated January 26, 2021. The report is available through the Legislative Analyst’s Office’s (LAO) website at https://lao.ca.gov /Publications/Report/4319 (last accessed October 17, 2025). 16. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 12 is a true and correct copy of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability’s report titled Examining Widespread Fraud in Pandemic Unemployment Relief Programs, dated September 10, 2024. The report is available through the Committee on Oversight’s website at https://oversight.house.gov/report/examining-widespread-fraud-in-pandemic- unemployment-relief-programs/ (last accessed October 17, 2025). GOODWIN PROCTER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB Document 590-1 Filed 10/17/25 PageID.39868 Page 4 of 7 4 BRYS DECL. ISO RJN CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 17. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 13 is a true and correct copy of an EDD brochure titled Unemployment Insurance Benefits: What You Need to Know last accessed on October 13, 2025. The brochure is available via Wayback Machine at https://web.archive.org/web/20200229092618/https://edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de12 75b.pdf (last accessed October 17, 2025). 18. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 14 is a true and correct copy of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means article titled Ways and Means Votes to Claw Back Billions in Stolen Pandemic-Era Unemployment Benefits, Protect Taxpayer Rights, dated February 12, 2025. The article is available through the United States House Committee on Ways & Means’ website at https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2025/02/12/ways-and-means-votes-to-claw-back- billions-in-stolen-pandemic-era-unemployment-benefits-protect-taxpayer-rights/ (last accessed October 17, 2025). 19. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 15 is a true and correct copy of California State Auditor Report 2020-128/628.1 titled EDD’s Poor Planning and Ineffective Management Left It Unprepared to Assist Californians Unemployed by COVID-19 Shutdowns, dated January 2021. The report is available through the California State Auditor’s website at https://information.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/ reports/2020-128and628.1.pdf (last accessed October 17, 2025). Other Publications 20. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 16 is a true and correct copy of KCRA 3’s article titled Analysis shows California EDD fraud at $32.6 Billion and Counting, dated October 6, 2022. The article is available through KCRA’s website at https://www.kcra.com/article/analysis-edd-fraud-326-billion-and- counting/41281662 (last accessed October 17, 2025). 21. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 17 is a true and correct copy of Decipher’s article titled Criminals Find a Way to Clone EMV Cards, dated July 31, 2020. The article is available through Wayback Machine at GOODWIN PROCTER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB Document 590-1 Filed 10/17/25 PageID.39869 Page 5 of 7 5 BRYS DECL. ISO RJN CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 https://web.archive.org/web/20250615021941/https://duo.com/decipher/criminals- find-a-way-to-clone-emv-cards (last accessed October 17, 2025). 22. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 18 is a true and correct copy of WQOW.com article titled Shimmers: the new credit card skimmers, dated June 29, 2018. The article is available through WQOW’s website at https://www.wqow.com/news/shimmers-the-newcredit-card-skimmers/article_ 8a075616-886b-558d-9a42-8ca5ea3e578f.html (last accessed October 17, 2025). 23. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 19 is a true and correct copy of ID.me’s article titled Calculating the Road to Losing $400 Billion Dollars, dated January 20, 2022. The article is available through ID.me’s website at https://network.id.me/article/calculating-the-road-to-losing-400-billion-dollars/ (last accessed October 17, 2025). 24. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 20 is a true and correct copy of Nilson Report, Issue 1187, dated December 2020. The report is available though the Nilson Report website at https://nilsonreport.com/newsletters/1187/ (available via free trial at https://nilsonreport.com/newsletter-trial-offer) (both last accessed October 17, 2025). 25. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 21 is a true and correct copy of YouTube video titled “EDD” by ShotOff & Nuke Bizzle, dated October 22, 2020. The video is available through YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=K0ck7hTsug8 (last accessed October 17, 2025). 26. Attached hereto as RJN Exhibit 22 is a true and correct copy of YouTube video titled “Bandemic (E.D.D.)” by Shoreline Mafia, dated April 20, 2021. The video is available through YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vut-17KzZJk (last accessed October 17, 2025). /// /// /// GOODWIN PROCTER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB Document 590-1 Filed 10/17/25 PageID.39870 Page 6 of 7 6 BRYS DECL. ISO RJN CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 I declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on this 17th day of October, 2025. /s/ Laura G. Brys LAURA G. BRYS GOODWIN PROCTER LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB Document 590-1 Filed 10/17/25 PageID.39871 Page 7 of 7
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