Citrus Heights Woman Pleads Guilty to Participation in $1 Million Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud Scheme (February 27, 2025)

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, dated February 27, 2025, announcing that Rochelle Pasley of Citrus Heights pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to court documents, between June and December 2020 Pasley and Deshawn Oshaea Campbell filed fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims with the California Employment Development Department (EDD), which approved more than 50 of the claims and paid out over $1 million. Pasley is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta on June 26, 2025. Charges are pending against Campbell, and the release says those charges are only allegations.

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“Citrus Heights Woman Pleads Guilty to Participation in $1 Million Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud Scheme (February 27, 2025).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2025-03-03-citrus-heights-woman-pleads-guilty-to-participation-in-1-mi-cae0943d43/, SHA-256 97358e873a29bc656cbdea57dbc41183af417aaa6d928b8cdf06b03a58ed1984.

Full text

PRESS RELEASE

Citrus Heights Woman Pleads Guilty to
Participation in $1 Million Unemployment
Insurance Benefits Fraud Scheme
Thursday, February 27, 2025

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

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rochelle Pasley, 34, of Citrus Heights, pleaded guilty today to
conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft, Acting
U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, between June and December 2020, Pasley and Deshawn
Oshaea Campbell, 36, of Citrus Heights, conspired to defraud by filing fraudulent
unemployment insurance claims with the California Employment Development
Department (EDD) seeking Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits under the
CARES Act. During the conspiracy, the defendants obtained the identifying information
of other individuals and used their identities to submit dozens of fraudulent claims. The
claims represented, among other things, that the claimants had recently lost
employment or were unable to find employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These
claims were fraudulent because, for instance, many of the individuals whose identities
were used did not reside in California and were thus ineligible for benefits from EDD.

In the applications, the defendants used mailing addresses that were under their control,
or under the control of their family and friends. EDD approved more than 50 of the
fraudulent claims and authorized Bank of America to mail out EDD debit cards
containing benefits. The defendants then obtained these debit cards and used them to
withdraw the benefits at ATMs throughout California and to make direct purchases, all
for their own benefit. The scheme resulted in EDD paying out over $1 million.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the
Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, and the EDD – Investigation Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Delaney and Justin Lee are prosecuting the case.
Pasley is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta on June
26, 2025. Pasley faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000
fine for each count of conspiracy and mail fraud, and a mandatory, consecutive two-year
prison term 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.

Charges are pending against Campbell. Those charges are only allegations, and
Campbell presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated February 27, 2025

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

FINANCIAL FRAUD

Component
USAO - California, Eastern

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Original: www.oig.dol.gov