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Home Court filings Bofa Ca Unemployment In re: Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation — S.D. Cal., No. 21-md-02992 14AD — In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation (Dkt. 591-29, S.D. Cal. No. 3:21-md-02992)

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14AD — In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation (Dkt. 591-29, 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

CourtU.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Filed2025-10-17

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California · No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB · Doc. 591-29 · 2025-10-17 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

DX 14.AD 
REDACTED VERSION OF 
DOCUMENT SOUGHT TO 
BE SEALED PURSUANT TO 
STIPULATED 
PROTECTIVE ORDER 
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Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 591-29     Filed 10/17/25     PageID.41441 
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1
2         UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
3         SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
4         CASE NO. 3:21-md-02992-LAB-MSB
5  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6  IN RE BANK OF AMERICA
7  CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT
8  BENEFITS LITIGATION
9  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10
11         TRANSCRIPT of the stenographic notes of
12  the videotaped deposition of RYAN SCHWARTZ in the
13  above-entitled matter, as taken by and before
14  LORRAINE B. ABATE, a Certified Shorthand Reporter and
15  Notary Public of the State of New York, and
16  Registered Professional Reporter, held at the offices
17  of Goodwin Procter LLP, New York Times Building, 620
18  Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, on December
19  4, 2024, commencing at 9:43 a.m., pursuant to Notice.
20
21
22
23  Job No.: 10154398
24
25
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
2     Q.   Who's your supervisor now?
3     A.   Let me think about that.  It's the same
4  answer.  My formal supervisor, I've never spoken to.
5  My functional supervisor is Amy Pierce.
6     Q.   Who is her supervisor?
7     A.   Sara Walsh.
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
  
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14         MR. JONES:  I think we can take a break
15     now.
16         THE VIDEOGRAPHER:  The time is 11:01
17     a.m.  We're going off the record.
18         (There was a recess taken.)
19         THE VIDEOGRAPHER:  The time is 11:20
20     a.m.  We're back on the record.
21  BY MR. JONES:
22     Q.   Before we took a break, we had been
23  talking about various e-mails and some of your
24  colleagues on those e-mails.
25     A.   Yes.
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
2     Q.   And so is it correct to say that Letson,
3  Holt, and Michel are the folks you were working
4  closest -- most close with --
5     A.   Yes.
6     Q.   -- in this period?
7     A.   My immediate colleagues, yes, that's
8  correct.
9     Q.   What was Letson's background and
10  expertise?
11     A.   I'm not sure I know for certain.
12     Q.   What was your sense of it at the time?
13     A.   He had either an auditing or accounting
14  background.  I know he had been with the bank for
15  decades.  I did not know Mike very well at all prior
16  to these events.  He hired me, obviously, and knew
17  who I was, but I don't know Mike personally or
18  professionally.  I've never actually met him in
19  person.
20     Q.   And what was Holt's background?
21     A.   I have the same answer.  I don't know.
22  I only met her very briefly, before she was on
23  medical leave -- maternity leave.  I don't think
24  she'd mind me saying that.
25     Q.   You had mentioned that she had some
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
2  expertise in fraud rings; is that right?
3     A.   That was my understanding of her time at
4  the bank, had been primarily within either financial
5  crimes specifically or fraud group, but I can't
6  testify to her specific background or resume.  I've
7  never seen it.
8     Q.   Did you find her to have useful
9  contributions to this work?
10     A.   Absolutely, yes.  I absolutely did, yes.
11  She had a different perspective and different
12  background than mine.
19     Q.   And what was Michel's background, as far
20  as you remember?
21     A.   As far as I remember, prior coming --
22  prior to coming to the bank, she had worked for a law
23  enforcement agency in an analytical capacity.  I
24  don't recall which one.
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
  
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
3     Q.   Were you the primary person on the team
4  with expertise in data analytics?
5     A.   Yes.  That's why they hired me.  And
6  when you -- when I say team, I want to be clear I'm
7  talking about Mike's team specifically.
8     Q.   Yes.
9         And Mike's team is larger than the four
10  of you; is that correct?
11     A.   At the time, I can't recall specifically
12  what his team was.  I'd be -- this is my best guess,
13  is that he had probably three teams of equivalent
14  size.  Typically at the bank, a team would be about
15  eight or ten people reporting to a common manager.  I
16  believe he had -- I believe he had three managers at
17  the time.
18     Q.   And one of those three was Holt?
19     A.   Again, it was -- she was on leave, so
20  there was some, you know, temporary management by
21  other people, but one of them was Anne, yes.
22     Q.   And so you spent a fair amount of time
23  working with Holt, Michel, and Letson on prepaid --
24     A.   Absolutely, yes.
25     Q.   -- issues?
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
2     A.   Absolutely.  Once it became -- it came
3  to our attention that there was a pretty severe
4  problem with that product.
5     Q.   And was it your experience that all of
6  you had valuable things to contribute to the work
7  that you were doing?
8     A.   I think all of my colleagues are
9  valuable, yes.
10         MR. JONES: Good on-the-record answer.
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
  
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1         Schwartz - December 4, 2024
2         C E R T I F I C A T I O N
3
4  STATE OF NEW YORK    )
5              )   ss:
6  COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER  )
7
8
9     I, LORRAINE B. ABATE, a Certified Shorthand
10  Reporter and Notary Public of the State of New York
11  and Registered Professional Reporter, do hereby
12  certify the foregoing to be a true and accurate
13  transcript of my original stenographic notes taken of
14  RYAN SCHWARTZ at the time and place hereinbefore set
15  forth.
16     I further certify that I am not related, by
17  blood or marriage, to any of the parties in this
18  matter and that I am in no way interested in the
19  outcome of this matter.
20
21         ____________________________________
22          LORRAINE B. ABATE, CSR, RPR
23          License No. 000965
24
25  Dated: December 7, 2024
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