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Declaration Of Jennifer

Date
2026-05-19

Summary

The Declaration of Jennifer Lennon, filed May 19, 2026 as Document 723-1 in In re: Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation, Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, before Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel. Counsel for Defendant Bank of America, N.A. filed it provisionally under seal pursuant to a stipulated protective order. The declarant, the bank's Prepaid Unemployment Programs Executive, describes her responsibilities and attaches a DOL-OIG alert memorandum dated January 30, 2026 as Exhibit A and one dated September 21, 2022 as Exhibit B. According to the declaration, the January 2026 memorandum reports that DOL-OIG found 2,679,741 of 4,369,061 prepaid accounts with remaining balances potentially fraudulently obtained. It also states that EDD, not BANA, makes UI benefits eligibility determinations.

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Full text

                  Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB       Document 723-1     Filed 05/19/26   PageID.60310
                                                     Page 1 of 5


                      1   JAMES W. MCGARRY (pro hac vice)
                          JMcGarry@goodwinlaw.com
                      2   GOODWIN PROCTER LLP
                      3   100 Northern Avenue
                          Boston, MA 02210
                      4   Tel.: +1 617 570 1000
                          Fax: +1 617 523 1231
                      5
                          SABRINA M. ROSE-SMITH (pro hac vice)
                      6   SRoseSmith@goodwinlaw.com
                      7   MATTHEW L. RIFFEE (pro hac vice)
                          MRiffee@goodwinlaw.com
                      8   GOODWIN PROCTER LLP
                          1900 N Street, NW
                      9   Washington, DC 20036
                  10      Tel.: +1 202 346 4000
                          Fax: +1 202 346 4444
                  11
                          Attorneys for Defendant
                  12      BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
                  13
                  14
                                              UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
                  15
                                         FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
                  16
                                                   SAN DIEGO DIVISION
                  17
                  18      IN RE: BANK OF AMERICA             Case No. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB
                          CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT
                  19                                         DECLARATION OF JENNIFER
                          BENEFITS LITIGATION
                                                             LENNON
                  20
                                                             Ctrm:         12A – 12th Floor
                  21                                         Judge:        Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel
                  22                                         FILED PROVISIONALLY UNDER SEAL
                                                             PURSUANT TO STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
                  23                                         ORDER

                  24
                  25
                  26
                  27
                  28
GOODWIN PROCTER LLP
   ATTORNEYS AT LAW

                          LENNON DECL.                                     CASE NO. 3:21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB
                  Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB             Document 723-1      Filed 05/19/26   PageID.60311
                                                           Page 2 of 5


                      1         I, Jennifer Lennon, hereby declare as follows:
                      2         1.       I am employed by Defendant Bank of America, N.A. (“BANA”). I make
                      3   this declaration based upon personal knowledge and belief, upon BANA’s records
                      4   maintained in the ordinary course and scope of business, and upon information
                      5   gathered from other BANA employees within the scope of their responsibilities. If
                      6   called to testify as to any of the matters set forth in this declaration, I could and would
                      7   competently testify thereto.
                      8         2.       In my capacity as the Prepaid Unemployment Programs Executive for
                      9   BANA, my responsibilities include leading the following functions as part of
                  10      managing the Prepaid Business: prepaid controls and quality assurance; prepaid
                  11      change management and transformation including Visa and product oversight;
                  12      prepaid end-to-end check issuance oversight and balance reduction; prepaid data
                  13      management and analytics; prepaid call center, complaints, fraud policy, and return
                  14      of funds process; and prepaid claims processing, direct compensation and
                  15      individualized review process management, and cardholder communications.
                  16            3.       In the same capacity, I am also responsible for overseeing BANA’s
                  17      response to
                  18
                  19
                  20                             . I am further responsible for coordinating with the relevant
                  21      state agencies, including California’s Employment Development Department
                  22      (“EDD”), concerning
                  23
                  24                                                  .
                  25            4.       On January 30, 2026, the DOL-OIG issued a public alert memorandum
                  26      related to Prepaid Accounts still holding funds in suspense or having had their funds
                  27      escheated to various state unclaimed property authorities. A copy of the January 30,
                  28      2026 Alert Memorandum is attached as Exhibit A.
GOODWIN PROCTER LLP
   ATTORNEYS AT LAW                                                    1
                          LENNON DECL.                                           CASE NO. 3:21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB
                 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB           Document 723-1     Filed 05/19/26   PageID.60312
                                                        Page 3 of 5


                      1
                      2
                      3                                                           .
                      4         5.       As explained in the January 30, 2026 Alert Memorandum, in August
                      5   2025, DOL-OIG issued an Inspector General subpoena to              . Ex. A at 3. The
                      6   DOL-OIG sought             records pertaining to (1) all Prepaid Accounts funded for
                      7   UI between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021 with remaining UI balances, and
                      8   (2) Prepaid Account funded for UI between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021
                      9   with balances already escheated to state unclaimed property administrators. Ex. A at
                 10       3.         provided the requested records to OIG in September 2025, and OIG
                 11       subsequently investigated them for potential fraud.
                 12             6.       According to the January 30, 2026 Alert Memorandum, DOL-OIG
                 13       reviewed 4,369,061            Prepaid Accounts with balances remaining in their
                 14       Prepaid Accounts as of September 2025, and determined that 2,679,741 of those
                 15       Prepaid Accounts were potentially fraudulently obtained. Ex. A at 5. According to
                 16       the same memorandum, DOL-OIG also reviewed 914,527 Prepaid Accounts with
                 17       escheated funds, and determined that 459,350 were potentially fraudulently obtained.
                 18
                 19
                 20
                 21                                                                             .
                 22             7.
                 23
                 24                                                                            . A copy of the
                 25       September 21, 2022 Alert Memorandum is attached as Exhibit B. According to the
                 26       September 21, 2022 Alert Memorandum, DOL-OIG considers the following types of
                 27       Prepaid Accounts to be potentially fraudulent: (1) accounts with Social Security
                 28       Numbers associated with unemployment insurance (“UI”) claims filed in two or more
GOODWIN PROCTER LLP
   ATTORNEYS AT LAW                                                 2
                          LENNON DECL.                                          CASE NO. 3:21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB
                 Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB            Document 723-1      Filed 05/19/26   PageID.60313
                                                         Page 4 of 5


                      1   states concurrently; (2) accounts with Social Security Numbers belonging to
                      2   deceased persons; (3) accounts with Social Security Numbers belonging to ineligible
                      3   federal prisoners; or (4) accounts associated with UI claims filed with email addresses
                      4   identified as suspicious by DOL-OIG (such as accounts enabling users to hide
                      5   personal information and identities). See Ex. B at 4-6.
                      6         8.       On May 8, 2026,
                      7
                      8                                                                       .
                      9         9.       At my direction and under my supervision,
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                 21                                                                                   .
                 22             10.
                 23
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                 26                                         , because EDD (and not BANA) is in possession of
                 27       UI benefits eligibility information and is and was at all relevant times responsible for
                 28       making UI benefits eligibility determinations.
GOODWIN PROCTER LLP
   ATTORNEYS AT LAW                                                  3
                          LENNON DECL.                                          CASE NO. 3:21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB   Document 723-1   Filed 05/19/26   PageID.60314
                               Page 5 of 5


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