Indictment — United States v. Cynthia Ann Hernandez, Central District of California (Document 1)
Summary
A grand jury Indictment filed September 9, 2022 as Document 1 in United States v. Cynthia Ann Hernandez, aka "Cynthia Roberts," No. 5:22-cr-00217-MCS, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. It alleges that from June 2020 through at least August 2020 the defendant and co-schemers filed unemployment insurance applications with California's Employment Development Department in the names of persons incarcerated in California state prisons, claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance under the CARES Act, and had the debit cards mailed to the defendant's address. The indictment states the scheme caused at least approximately 29 fraudulent applications and losses of approximately $515,138. It charges mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341, access device fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(5) and aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1).
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“Indictment — United States v. Cynthia Ann Hernandez, Central District of California (Document 1).”
Original at archive.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/indictment-no-5-22-cr-00217-dkt-1-c-d-cal-24305a0ff4/
, SHA-256 a0d08adad794c5bedcd42efd4b27b20966e801fbd4d7021dacac814ccd84eb9e.Full text
Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 1 of 12 Page ID #:1
9/9/2022
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VAV
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10 June 2022 Grand Jury
11 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ED CR 5:22-cr-00217-MCS
12 Plaintiff, I N D I C T M E N T
13 v. [18 U.S.C. § 1341: Mail Fraud;
18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(5): Access
14 CYNTHIA ANN HERNANDEZ, Device Fraud in Excess of $1,000;
aka “Cynthia Roberts,” 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1):
15 Aggravated Identity Theft; 18
Defendant. U.S.C. §§ 981, 982 and 1029, and
16 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c): Criminal
Forfeiture]
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18
19 The Grand Jury charges:
20 COUNTS ONE THROUGH FOUR
21 [18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 2(a), 2(b)]
22 A. INTRODUCTORY ALLEGATIONS
23 At times relevant to this Indictment:
24 1. California’s Employment Development Department (“EDD”) was
25 the administrator of the unemployment insurance (“UI”) benefits
26 program for the State of California.
27 2. On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States
28 declared COVID-19 an emergency under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 2 of 12 Page ID #:2
1 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. As a result, Congress passed
2 the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”),
3 which the President signed into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act
4 provided over $2 trillion in economic relief protections to the
5 American people from the public health and economic impacts of COVID-
6 19.
7 3. Prior to the enactment of the CARES Act, to be eligible for
8 UI benefits administered by EDD, a person had to have been employed
9 and worked in California and received at least a certain amount of
10 wages from an employer in the 18 months preceding his/her UI benefits
11 claim. Because of this requirement, self-employed workers,
12 independent contractors, and employees with insufficient earnings
13 were not eligible to receive regular UI benefits.
14 4. The CARES Act established a new program — Pandemic
15 Unemployment Assistance (“PUA”) — to provide UI benefits during the
16 COVID-19 pandemic to people who did not qualify for regular UI
17 benefits, including business owners, self-employed workers,
18 independent contractors, and those with a limited work history, who
19 were out of business or had significantly reduced their services as a
20 direct result of the pandemic. UI benefits provided under the PUA
21 program were sometimes referred to as PUA benefits.
22 5. Under the PUA provisions of the CARES Act, a person who was
23 a business owner, self-employed worker, independent contractor, or
24 gig worker could qualify for PUA benefits administered by EDD if
25 he/she previously performed such work in California and was
26 unemployed, partially unemployed, unable to work, or unavailable to
27 work due to a COVID-19-related reason.
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1 6. Persons applying for PUA benefits did not need to submit
2 any supporting documents to EDD with their applications. Claimants
3 reported their total income for the 2019 calendar year on the
4 application. The stated income was used to calculate the benefits to
5 be paid, which were at least $167 per week.
6 7. A PUA benefits claimant was required to answer various
7 questions on his/her application to establish his/her eligibility for
8 the benefits. The claimant was required to provide his/her name,
9 Social Security Number, and mailing address. The claimant was also
10 required to identify a qualifying occupational status and COVID-19
11 related reason for being out of work.
12 8. After it accepted an application for UI benefits, including
13 an application submitted pursuant to the PUA program, EDD typically
14 deposited UI funds every two weeks to an Electronic Bill Payment
15 (“EBP”) debit card administered by Bank of America (“BofA”), which
16 the claimant could use to pay for his/her expenses. The EBP debit
17 card was mailed via the United States Postal Service from BofA to the
18 claimant at the address the claimant provided as his/her mailing
19 address on his/her UI benefits application.
20 B. THE SCHEME TO DEFRAUD
21 9. Beginning no later than June 2020 and continuing through at
22 least August 2020, in San Bernardino County, within the Central
23 District of California, and elsewhere, defendant CYNTHIA ANN
24 HERNANDEZ, also known as “Cynthia Roberts,” together with others
25 known and unknown to the Grand Jury, knowingly and with the intent to
26 defraud, devised, participated in, and executed a scheme to defraud
27 EDD and the United States Treasury as to material matters, and to
28 obtain money and property from EDD and the United States Treasury,
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Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 4 of 12 Page ID #:4
1 namely, UI benefits, including PUA benefits, by means of material
2 false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and
3 the concealment of material facts.
4 10. The fraudulent scheme operated, in substance, as follows:
5 a. Defendant HERNANDEZ and her co-schemers filed and
6 caused to be filed with EDD fraudulent applications for UI benefits
7 in the names of other persons, namely, persons incarcerated in
8 California state prisons.
9 b. Defendant HERNANDEZ and her co-schemers falsely stated
10 and represented, and caused to be falsely stated and represented, on
11 the UI benefits applications that were filed with EDD that the named
12 claimants were individuals whose employment had been negatively
13 affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby triggering eligibility for
14 UI benefits under the PUA provision of the CARES Act.
15 c. Defendant HERNANDEZ and her co-schemers falsely stated
16 and represented, and caused to be falsely stated and represented, on
17 the UI benefits applications that were filed with EDD that the named
18 claimants resided and had worked in the State of California,
19 including in Los Angeles County and Orange County, within the Central
20 District of California.
21 d. By falsely stating that the named claimants had worked
22 in the State of California, defendant HERNANDEZ and her co-schemers
23 falsely represented and caused to be falsely represented that the
24 named claimants were eligible for UI benefits administered by EDD
25 when, as defendant HERNANDEZ then knew, they were not eligible for
26 such benefits.
27 e. As a result of the fraudulent UI benefits applications
28 that defendant HERNANDEZ and her co-schemers filed and caused to be
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Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 5 of 12 Page ID #:5
1 filed, EDD authorized BofA to issue EBP debit cards in the names of
2 the named claimants.
3 f. To ensure that they received the UI benefits that were
4 paid as a result of the fraudulent applications, defendant HERNANDEZ
5 and her co-schemers listed and caused to be listed on the
6 applications for the UI benefits defendant HERNANDEZ’s mailing
7 address. Defendant HERNANDEZ knew that, by doing so, defendant
8 HERNANDEZ and her co-schemers would cause BofA to mail the EBP debit
9 cards issued to the named claimants to her address, thereby enabling
10 defendant HERNANDEZ and her co-schemers to take possession of the EBP
11 debit cards.
12 g. After defendant HERNANDEZ received the EBP debit cards
13 issued as a result of the fraudulent UI benefits applications that
14 she and her co-schemers submitted and caused to be submitted to EDD,
15 defendant HERNANDEZ used the debit cards and caused the debit cards
16 to be used to withdraw the UI benefits loaded onto the debit cards by
17 making cash withdrawals at Automated Teller Machines and at banking
18 centers.
19 11. Through this scheme, defendant HERNANDEZ and her co-
20 schemers caused at least approximately 29 fraudulent applications for
21 PUA benefits to be filed with EDD resulting in losses to EDD and the
22 United States Treasury of approximately $515,138.
23 C. USE OF THE MAILS
24 12. On or about the dates set forth below, within the Central
25 District of California and elsewhere, defendant HERNANDEZ and her co-
26 schemers, aiding and abetting each other, for the purpose of
27 executing the above-described scheme to defraud, willfully caused the
28 following items to be placed in an authorized depository for mail
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Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 6 of 12 Page ID #:6
1 matter to be sent and delivered by the United States Postal Service,
2 according to the directions thereon:
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4 COUNT DATE ITEM MAILED
5 ONE 8/5/2020 EBP debit card for an account in the name of
J.V. ending in 5503 sent by U.S. Mail from
6 BofA to 15486 Guava Way, Victorville, CA
93551
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TWO 8/5/2020 EBP debit card for an account in the name of
8 M.G. ending in 9049 sent by U.S. Mail from
BofA to 15486 Guava Way, Victorville, CA
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93551
10 THREE 8/10/2020 EBP debit card for an account in the name of
E.T. ending in 0301 sent by U.S. Mail from
11 BofA to 15486 Guava Way, Victorville, CA
12 93551
FOUR 8/22/2020 EBP debit card for an account in the name of
13 R.R. ending in 8942 sent by U.S. Mail from
14 BofA to 15486 Guava Way, Victorville, CA
93551
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Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 7 of 12 Page ID #:7
COUNT FIVE
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[18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(5)]
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13. The Grand Jury hereby realleges and incorporates by
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reference paragraphs 1 through 11 of this Indictment as though fully
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set forth herein.
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14. Beginning on or about August 12, 2020, and continuing
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through on or about September 23, 2020, in San Bernardino County,
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within the Central District of California, and elsewhere, defendant
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CYNTHIA ANN HERNANDEZ, also known as “Cynthia Roberts,” with access
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devices (as defined in Title 18, United States Code, Sections
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1029(e)(1)) issued to other people, specifically, the following debit
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card account numbers issued to the persons identified below, knowing
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and with intent to defraud, effected transactions in and affecting
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interstate and foreign commerce, and by such conduct obtained things
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of value totaling at least $1,000 during a one-year period:
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UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DEVICE ISSUED TO
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BofA account number ending in 5503 J.V.
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BofA account number ending in 0301 E.T.
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BofA account number ending in 9049 M.G.
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BofA account number ending in 8942 R.R.
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Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 8 of 12 Page ID #:8
COUNTS SIX AND SEVEN
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[18 U.S.C. §§ 1028A(a)(1), 2(a), 2(b)]
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15. The Grand Jury hereby realleges and incorporates by
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reference paragraphs 1 through 11 of this Indictment as though fully
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set forth herein.
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16. On or about the dates set forth below, in San Bernardino
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County, within the Central District of California, and elsewhere,
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defendant CYNTHIA ANN HERNANDEZ, also known as “Cynthia Roberts,” and
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others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, each aiding and abetting
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the others, knowingly transferred, possessed and used, and willfully
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caused to be transferred, possessed, and used, without lawful
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authority, the means of identification set forth below that defendant
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HERNANDEZ knew belonged to another person, during and in relation to
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the commission of the following felony offenses:
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COUNT DATE MEANS OF IDENTIFICATION FELONY VIOLATION
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SIX 7/20/2020 Name and Social COUNT ONE, in
17 Security Number of J.V. violation of Title
18, United States
18 Code, Section 1343
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20 SEVEN 8/12/2020 BofA account numbers COUNT FIVE, in
through assigned to J.V., E.T., violation of Title
21 9/23/2020 M.G., and R.R. 18, United States
Code, Section
22 1029(a)(5)
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Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 9 of 12 Page ID #:9
1 FORFEITURE ALLEGATION ONE
2 [18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c)]
3 1. Pursuant to Rule 32.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal
4 Procedure, notice is hereby given that the United States of America
5 will seek forfeiture as part of any sentence, pursuant to Title 18,
6 United States Code, Sections 981(a)(1)(C) and 924 and Title 28,
7 United States Code, Section 2461(c), in the event of the defendant’s
8 conviction of the offenses set forth in any of Counts One through
9 Four and Six of this Indictment.
10 2. The defendant, if so convicted, shall forfeit to the United
11 States of America the following property:
12 (a) All right, title and interest in any and all property,
13 real or personal, constituting, or derived from, any proceeds
14 traceable to any such offense;
15 (b) All right, title, and interest in any firearm or
16 ammunition involved in or used in or used in any such offense; and
17 (c) To the extent such property is not available for
18 forfeiture, a sum of money equal to the total value of the property
19 described in subparagraphs (a) and (b).
20 3. Pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p), as
21 incorporated by Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c), the
22 defendant, if so convicted, shall forfeit substitute property, up to
23 the total value of the property described in the preceding paragraph
24 if, as the result of any act or omission of the defendant, the
25 property described in the preceding paragraph, or any portion
26 thereof: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;
27 (b) has been transferred, sold to or deposited with a third party;
28 (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (d) has
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Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 10 of 12 Page ID #:10
1 been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been commingled
2 with other property that cannot be divided without difficulty.
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Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 11 of 12 Page ID #:11
1 FORFEITURE ALLEGATION TWO
2 [18 U.S.C. §§ 982 and 1029]
3 1. Pursuant to Rule 32.2(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal
4 Procedure, notice is hereby given that the United States will seek
5 forfeiture as part of any sentence, pursuant to Title 18, United
6 States Code, Sections 982(a)(2) and 1029, in the event of the
7 defendant’s conviction of the offenses set forth in either of Counts
8 Five or Seven of this Indictment.
9 2. The defendant, if so convicted, shall forfeit to the United
10 States of America the following:
11 (a) All right, title, and interest in any and all
12 property, real or personal, constituting, or derived from, any
13 proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of the
14 offense;
15 (b) Any personal property used or intended to be used to
16 commit the offense; and
17 (c) To the extent such property is not available for
18 forfeiture, a sum of money equal to the total value of the property
19 described in subparagraphs (a) and (b).
20 3. Pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p),
21 as incorporated by Title 18, United States Code, Sections 982(b)(1)
22 and 1029(c)(2), the defendant, if so convicted, shall forfeit
23 substitute property, up to the total value of the property described
24 in the preceding paragraph if, as the result of any act or omission
25 of the defendant, the property described in the preceding paragraph,
26 or any portion thereof: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of
27 due diligence; (b) has been transferred, sold to or deposited with a
28 third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the
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Case 5:22-cr-00217-MCS Document 1 Filed 09/09/22 Page 12 of 12 Page ID #:12
1 court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has
2 been commingled with other property that cannot be divided without
3 difficulty.
A TRUE BILL
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5 /S/
Foreperson
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STEPHANIE S. CHRISTENSEN
7 Acting United States Attorney
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SCOTT M. GARRINGER
10 Assistant United States Attorney
Chief, Criminal Division
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DAVID T. RYAN
12 Assistant United States Attorney
Deputy Chief, General Crimes Section
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SOLOMON KIM
14 Assistant United States Attorney
Terrorism and Export Crimes Section
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