5 Charged in Alleged $3.3 Million Scam

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, dated March 6, 2025, announcing that five defendants were taken into federal custody on a 10-count indictment alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $3.3 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits. The defendants named are Janet Clarise Gloria Theus, Diane Clarise Theus, Dailen Spears, Erica Abson Robins, a California Highway Patrol dispatcher, and Ronald Lee Robins, who is identified as her husband. The indictment alleges at least approximately 293 applications were filed, including approximately 169 for children under the age of 18 and at least 17 for incarcerated prisoners. It charges conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and the defendants face a statutory maximum of 30 years for each bank fraud-related count.

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PRESS RELEASE


5 Charged in Alleged $3.3 Million Scam to
Obtain COVID Jobless Benefits for
Unqualified Individuals, Including
Children and Inmates
Thursday, March 6, 2025

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

LOS ANGELES – Five defendants – including a California Highway Patrol (CHP) dispatcher
and her convicted-felon husband – have been taken into federal custody on a 10-count
indictment alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $3.3 million in COVID-19
government unemployment benefits using stolen identities and personal identifiable
information, the Justice Department announced today.

The following defendants were charged by a federal grand jury with one count of
conspiracy to commit bank fraud:

   •   Janet Clarise Gloria Theus, 44, of Lancaster;
   •   Diane Clarise Theus, 78, of Lancaster, Janet Theus’ mother;
   •   Dailen Spears, 24, of Carson;
   •   Erica Abson Robins, 57, of Compton, a CHP dispatcher; and
   •   Ronald Lee Robins, 62, of Compton, Erica Robins’ husband, who was serving a
       state prison sentence for first-degree burglary during the alleged scheme.

Janet Theus also is charged with four counts of bank fraud. Diane Theus and Erica Abson
Robins each have been charged with two counts of bank fraud. Janet Theus, Diane
Theus, Erica Abson Robins, and Ronald Lee Robins are charged with one count of
unlawful use of unauthorized access devices.

Janet Theus and Diane Theus surrendered to federal authorities today and are
scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown
Los Angeles.
Erica Abson Robins and Ronald Lee Robins were arrested Wednesday. Spears
surrendered to federal authorities on Wednesday. All three of these defendants were
arraigned and pleaded not guilty to all charges. An April 29 trial date was scheduled.
Erica Robins and Spears were ordered released on $10,000 bond. A detention hearing
was scheduled for March 11 for Ronald Robins, who remains in federal custody.

According to the indictment returned February 12 and unsealed today, the defendants
from April 2020 to July 2022 executed a scheme to collect and share personal
information, including names and Social Security numbers, from individuals to
fraudulently receive COVID-19 unemployment cash benefits. After collecting this
personal information, the defendants submitted fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment
assistance applications, falsely claiming that the applicants had lost jobs because of the
pandemic. Janet Theus, Diane Theus, and Erica Robins then withdrew cash at ATMs from
the job-loss cash assistance accounts they conspired to create.

The indictment further alleges that, in total, defendants caused at least approximately
293 applications for unemployment benefits to be filed, resulting in payouts of
approximately $3.3 million. Approximately 169 of the benefits applications the
defendants caused to be filed were for children under the age of 18, approximately 106
of which were for children under the age of 10. The defendants also caused to be
submitted at least 17 COVID-19 job-loss claims for individuals who were in fact
incarcerated prisoners.

The indictment also alleges that Erica Robins used her position as a California Highway
Patrol dispatcher to query a law enforcement database containing Social Security
numbers and dates of birth regarding an inmate at the California Men’s Colony state
prison in San Luis Obispo, which was then used to obtain COVID-19 job-loss cash
benefits. At the time, Erica Robins’ husband, Ronald Robins, was an inmate at that same
prison. While incarcerated, Robins collected Social Security numbers and dates of birth
from other inmates, which Janet Theus and Diane Theus then used to withdraw COVID-
19 job-loss cash benefits.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every
defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt.

If convicted of all charges, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of
30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud-related count. Janet Theus, Diane Theus,
Erica Robins, and Ronald Robins would face up to 10 years in federal prison for unlawful
use of unauthorized access devices.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement
Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with
agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-
related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most
culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with
administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting
and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and
techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing
information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information
on the department’s response to the pandemic, please
visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the
Central and Eastern Districts of California to jointly head one of three national COVID-19
Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to
enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. The
Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on
large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and
transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic
relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to
identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. Additional
information regarding the Strike Force may be found
at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-covid-19-fraud-strike-
force-teams.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can
report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud
(NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form
at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

A number of law enforcement agencies are providing significant support, including the
U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), the United States
Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Office of
Inspector General (DHS-OIG), the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), California’s Employment
Development Department (EDD), California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR), and County of San Luis Obispo - District Attorney's Office
(SLODA).

Assistant United States Attorneys Diane B. Roldán and Matthew J. Tako of the General
Crimes Section are prosecuting these cases.
Contact
Ciaran McEvoy
Public Information Officer
ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov
(213) 894-4465

Updated March 6, 2025

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

FINANCIAL FRAUD

IDENTITY THEFT


Component
USAO - California, Central
Press Release Number: 25-063


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