Former Sacramento Resident Sentenced to Nearly 5 Years in Prison for Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, dated December 13, 2023, announcing that Terence Aubrey Larker of Las Vegas, previously of Sacramento, was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison for mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to court documents, beginning in April 2020, Larker obtained the personally identifiable information of more than 80 individuals and filed fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) under their identities. The release states that EDD mailed benefits as prepaid debit cards to addresses under Larker's control and that the conduct resulted in payouts of over $1.1 million. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow prosecuted the case as part of the California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force.

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PRESS RELEASE



Former Sacramento Resident
Sentenced to Nearly 5 Years in
Prison for Unemployment
Insurance Fraud Scheme
Wednesday, December 13, 2023

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Terence Aubrey Larker, 37, of Las Vegas, previously of
Sacramento, was sentenced Tuesday to four years and 10 months in prison for mail
fraud and aggravated identity theft in a scheme to defraud the Unemployment
Insurance benefit program during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Attorney Phillip A.
Talbert announced.

According to court documents, beginning in April 2020, and continuing through at least
October 2020, Larker perpetrated a mail fraud and identity theft scheme that targeted
the Unemployment Insurance benefit program that California administers through its
Employment Development Department (EDD). Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program,
EDD was responsible for administering unemployment insurance benefits for qualifying
residents who could no longer find employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Larker
obtained the personally identifiable information (PII) of more than 80 individuals and
filed fraudulent unemployment insurance benefit claims under their identities. EDD
approved many of these applications and mailed benefits in the form of prepaid debit
cards to addresses under Larker’s control, including at least 24 to his home address in
Sacramento. Once received in the mail, he activated the cards and spent the benefits on
himself, often appearing in ATM surveillance footage taking out large amounts of cash
from these cards. In total, Larker’s conduct resulted in EDD and the United States paying
out over $1.1 million in fraudulent claims.
“Terence A. Larker used stolen identities to submit fraudulent unemployment insurance
claims to obtain over $1 million in benefits allocated for workers who lost their jobs as a
result of the global pandemic. This sentence demonstrates the Office of Inspector
General’s continued commitment to safeguard the Unemployment Insurance system,”
said Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge, Los Angeles Region, U.S. Department of
Labor, Office of Inspector General.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Department of Labor-Office of
Inspector General, the California Employment Development Department, the
Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of the California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike
Force, one of five interagency COVID-19 fraud strike force teams established by the
Department of Justice. The California Strike Force combines law enforcement and
prosecutorial resources in the Eastern and Central Districts of California. The strike forces
focus on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal
organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law
enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to
identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

Updated December 13, 2023

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

DISASTER FRAUD

FINANCIAL FRAUD

IDENTITY THEFT


Component
USAO - California, Eastern


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