Los Angeles Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for Stealing Nearly $5.5 Million in COVID Jobless Relief

Summary

A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, dated Monday, November 14, 2022, announcing that Edward Kim, 36, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and fraud charges, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, two counts of mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims. According to the plea agreement, from May 2020 to March 2021 Kim and co-conspirators submitted approximately 459 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to the California Employment Development Department using the identities of California state prison inmates and others, receiving approximately $5,458,050. The release states that Kim also admitted to tax returns seeking more than $356,400 in Economic Impact Payments. Judge James V. Selna scheduled a March 6, 2023 sentencing hearing.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

                                      Department of Justice
                                        U.S. Attorney’s Office
                                     Central District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   Monday, November 14, 2022

   Los Angeles Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for
Stealing Nearly $5.5 Million in COVID Jobless Relief and for
                      Drug Trafficking
      SANTA ANA, California – A downtown Los Angeles man pleaded guilty today to federal drug
trafficking and fraud charges, admitting, among other things, that he fraudulently obtained nearly
$5.5 million in COVID-related jobless benefits by using the identities of California state prison
inmates and other third parties.

     Edward Kim, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and
fentanyl, one count of distribution of methamphetamine, one count of conspiracy to defraud the
government with respect to claims, two counts of mail fraud, and two counts of possession of 15 or
more unauthorized access devices.

     Kim has been in federal custody since his arrest in this case in March 2021.

      According to his plea agreement, from May 2020 to March 2021, Kim and his co-conspirators
submitted approximately 459 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to the California
Employment Development Department (EDD), using the names, Social Security numbers, dates of
birth and other personal identifiable information of California state prison inmates and other people.
Kim received the inmates’ information from various sources, including by purchasing PII from the
dark web.

     Kim and his accomplices submitted to the EDD online applications for UI benefits that falsely
represented the inmates and others were unemployed because of the economic crisis brought by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Kim knowingly listed on the applications false mailing addresses, including his
current and former apartments, to which the bank sent the EDD-approved debit cards containing UI
funds. Kim then made cash withdrawals at bank branches.

     In total, Kim and his co-conspirators received approximately $5,458,050 in fraudulently
obtained UI funds.

     Kim further admitted that in November 2019 he sent two packages – one containing nearly one
pound (449.6 grams) of methamphetamine, the other containing over 300 fake oxycodone pills
containing fentanyl – from a FedEx store in West Covina to the address of a UPS Store in Hawaii.
Kim’s co-conspirator in Hawaii arrived at the UPS Store to pick up the packages, but law
enforcement arrested him before he could do so.

      In July 2020, Kim began renting a warehouse in La Habra where he stored equipment and
materials for the manufacture and distribution of narcotics, including pill presses and dies, pill
bottles, scales, and various binding agents. He also maintained a marijuana grow operation at the La
Habra warehouse.

     Kim also admitted that beginning in March 2020, he conspired with others to defraud the
United States by using stolen identities to file false and fraudulent income tax returns to fraudulently
claim tax refunds. The tax returns included false information designed to qualify for COVID
pandemic-related Economic Impact Payments (EIP), which the federal government provided on
three occasions in 2020 and 2021. Together with his co-conspirators, Kim caused at least 297
fraudulent tax returns to be filed with the IRS which sought more than $356,400 in fraudulent EIP
from the United States.

      During a traffic stop in La Habra in November 2020, law enforcement found approximately 22
grams of methamphetamine in Kim’s car, along with a digital scale, and 16 debit cards in the names
of other people.

     Another search in March 2021 at Kim’s luxury apartment near L.A. Live resulted in law
enforcement finding nearly 35 grams of methamphetamine, dozens of EDD letters and mailings, and
a notebook marked “stimulus scheme,” which contained approximately 405 different identities.

     A search of the La Habra warehouse in April 2021 led to the discovery of more EDD paperwork,
ATM withdrawal receipts, and nearly 296 grams of methamphetamine. A 9mm Polymer80 handgun
with no serial number – commonly referred to as a “ghost gun” – also was found at the La Habra
warehouse.

      United States District Judge James V. Selna scheduled a March 6, 2023 sentencing hearing, at
which time Kim will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a
statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

      Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Department
of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the California Employment Development Department -
Investigation Division, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation - Special Service
Unit, the La Habra Police Department, and the Hawaii Police Department are investigating this
matter.

    Assistant United States Attorney Andrew M. Roach of the Cyber and Intellectual Property
Crime Section and Julia Hu of the Major Frauds section are prosecuting this case.

     Anyone with general information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can
report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866)
720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-
disaster-complaint-form.
Topic(s):
Coronavirus
Drug Trafficking
Financial Fraud
Component(s):
USAO - California, Central
Contact:
Thom Mrozek Director of Media Relations thom.mrozek@usdoj.gov (213) 894-6947
Press Release Number:
22-238
                                                                              Updated November 14, 2022


File and source

File

2022-11-18-Los-Angeles-Man-Pleads-Guilty-to-Federal-Charges-for-Stealing-Nearly-5-5-Million-in-COVID-Jobless-R.pdf

Size

105,982 bytes

SHA-256

8bd93771e006f21d15837dcdbb8de800e6ad3efe69dd45e93301ebb573ce664e

Our copy

2022-11-18-Los-Angeles-Man-Pleads-Guilty-to-Federal-Charges-for-Stealing-Nearly-5-5-Million-in-COVID-Jobless-R.pdf

Original

No public link identified.