Sacramento Woman Pleads Guilty to Participation in Nearly $2.6 Million COVID-19 Benefit Fraud Scheme (February 13, 2025)

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, dated February 13, 2025, announcing that Tabitha Leigh Markle of Sacramento pleaded guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in a scheme to defraud the unemployment insurance benefit program. According to court documents, between April 2020 and January 2021 Markle submitted fraudulent applications to the California Employment Development Department using victims' personally identifiable information. Markle and criminal associates obtained approximately $2,599,038, using debit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs. Sentencing by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley is scheduled for May 13, 2025; mail fraud carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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PRESS RELEASE


Sacramento Woman Pleads Guilty to
Participation in Nearly $2.6 Million
COVID-19 Benefit Fraud Scheme
Thursday, February 13, 2025

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

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Tabitha Leigh Markle, 53, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to
mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in a scheme to defraud the unemployment
insurance benefit program during the COVID-19 pandemic, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele
Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, between April 2020 and January 2021, Markle defrauded
the California Employment Development Department (EDD) and the United States out
of unemployment insurance benefits. Markle collected personally identifiable
information (PII) including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and other
information, and submitted fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance (UI)
benefits to EDD. Markle and her associates caused the UI debit cards to be mailed to
addresses she listed in the fraudulent applications. They used the cards that were issued
in the names of the supposed beneficiaries to withdraw cash from ATMs throughout
California. Markle and her associates often appeared in ATM surveillance photos taking
out large amounts of cash from the cards. Markle and her criminal associates obtained
approximately $2,599,038 from the fraud.

Markle also used the means of identification of various victims, including N.T., who was
a resident of Oakland. Without N.T.’s knowledge or permission, Markle filed a false
unemployment insurance application with California EDD using N.T.’s true name and
other identifying information, but using a false email address, phone number and
mailing address. Markle’s associates withdrew thousands of dollars of unemployment
insurance benefits from the card issued to N.T.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation Office of Inspector General, California EDD – Investigation Division, and the
United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney
Christina McCall is prosecuting the case.

Markle is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on May 13,
2025. Markle faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000
fine (or twice the amount of the loss) for mail fraud, plus supervised release of up to five
years. She also faces a mandatory two-year consecutive prison and a fine of up to
$250,000 for aggravated identity theft. The actual sentence, however, will be determined
at the discretion of the Court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and
the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This effort is part of a California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation,
one of five interagency COVID-19 fraud strike force teams established by the U.S.
Department of Justice. The California Strike Force combines law enforcement and
prosecutorial resources in the Eastern and Central Districts of California and focuses on
large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and
transnational actors. The strike forces use prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams
to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

Updated February 13, 2025

Topic
CORONAVIRUS


Component
USAO - California, Eastern


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