New Hampshire Man Indicted for Fraud Scheme

Summary

Press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, dated November 20, 2025. A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment against Anthony Mark Silva of Manchester, New Hampshire, charging nine counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. According to court documents, between July 2020 and June 2021 he filed fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with the California Employment Development Department using personal information collected from numerous individuals. The release says the department approved dozens of the claims and mailed debit cards, which he activated and spent on himself, and that actual losses exceeded $700,000. If convicted he faces up to 30 years and a $1 million fine on each bank fraud count. The charges are only allegations.

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

Cite this document

“New Hampshire Man Indicted for Fraud Scheme.” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2025-11-21-new-hampshire-man-indicted-for-fraud-scheme-that-stole-over-b0846a60c9/, SHA-256 2b7b00f2216da5dae22c37a0c05cefe9f2c1228f47af7fb7eccd2e3492fb6c72.

Full text

PRESS RELEASE


New Hampshire Man Indicted for Fraud
Scheme that Stole Over $700,000 in
California Unemployment Insurance
Benefits
Thursday, November 20, 2025

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

A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment today against Anthony Mark Silva,
40, of Manchester, New Hampshire, charging him with nine counts of bank fraud and
one count of aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, between July 2020 and June 2021, Silva executed a
scheme to defraud the California Employment Development Department (EDD) by filing
fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with EDD, seeking Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance and other benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
(CARES) Act. During the scheme, Silva collected personally identifiable information of
numerous individuals—including names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers—
which were used to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. The filings
represented, among other things, that the claimants had recently lost employment or
were unable to find employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These unemployment
insurance claims were fraudulent because, for example, the claimants were not
unemployed, they were not eligible for California unemployment insurance benefits, or
Silva did not have authority to file claims on their behalf.

EDD approved dozens of the fraudulent claims and authorized Bank of America to mail
out debit cards containing unemployment insurance benefits. Silva then activated the
debit cards and spent the benefits on himself. The scheme sought and caused EDD and
the United States to incur actual losses exceeding $700,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of
Inspector General and EDD’s Investigation Division. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney
Nchekube Onyima and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea J. Kenny are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Silva faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1
million fine on each of the bank fraud counts. Silva also faces a two-year mandatory
prison sentence if convicted of aggravated identity theft, which must run consecutive to
any sentence received on the other counts. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until
and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated November 20, 2025

Topic
CORONAVIRUS
Component
USAO - California, Eastern

File and source

File: 2025-11-21-New-Hampshire-Man-Indicted-for-Fraud-Scheme-that-Stole-Over-700-000-in-California-Unemployment-Insu.pdf
Size: 99,128 bytes
SHA-256: 2b7b00f2216da5dae22c37a0c05cefe9f2c1228f47af7fb7eccd2e3492fb6c72
Our copy: 2025-11-21-New-Hampshire-Man-Indicted-for-Fraud-Scheme-that-Stole-Over-700-000-in-California-Unemployment-Insu.pdf
Original: www.oig.dol.gov