U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Final Two Defendants Plead Guilty for Roles in Scheme that Fraudulently Obtained Over $2 Million in COVID-19 Jobless Benefits (USAO CD-CA 03/27/2023) (2023-03-29)

Summary

A March 27, 2023 press release (No. 23-064) from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announcing that Keith Burns of Houston and Regjinay Tate of Corona, the last two of eight defendants indicted in June 2022, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud tied to a declared emergency. According to court documents, from March 2020 through July 2021 lead defendant Robert Campbell Jr. used other people's identifying information, including that of relatives, prisoners and identity theft victims, to file unemployment claims with the California Employment Development Department, falsely describing claimants as salon and barbershop workers. In total 174 fraudulent applications were filed and 125 claims paid, for losses of about $2,113,966. Dillon Roberts allegedly recruited Texas residents, including Burns.

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Full text

PRESS RELEASE



Final Two Defendants Plead Guilty
for Roles in Scheme that
Fraudulently Obtained Over $2
Million in COVID-19 Jobless
Benefits
Monday, March 27, 2023


For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California
RIVERSIDE, California – The last two defendants in an Inland Empire-based scheme in
which eight people fraudulently obtained $2.1 million in pandemic-related
unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by claiming, among other things, that they were
salon and barbershop workers rendered jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic pleaded
guilty today to conspiracy and mail fraud charges.

All eight defendants charged by a federal grand jury in June 2022 now have admitted to
participating in a scheme to submit fraudulent applications in the names of relatives,
prisoners, and identity theft victims.

Keith Burns, 39, of Houston, Texas, and Regjinay Tate, 29, of Corona, each pleaded guilty
today to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in relation to benefits connected
to a presidentially declared emergency and one count of mail fraud in relation to
benefits connected to a presidentially declared emergency. The other six defendants in
this case pleaded guilty over the past several weeks to the same conspiracy count and
the same or similar mail fraud charges.

According to court documents, from March 2020 through July 2021, lead defendant
Robert Campbell Jr., 29, of Corona, orchestrated the scheme to use the federal
government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic to steal UI benefits. Campbell and
his co-conspirators used the personally identifiable information (PII) of others –
including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers – to file fraudulent UI
applications with the California Employment Development Department (EDD), which
administers the state’s unemployment insurance program.

The fraudulent UI claims were federally funded through programs authorized by
Congress in response to the pandemic, including the Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance and Lost Wage Assistance programs.

Many of the fraudulent claims were made on behalf of ineligible out-of-state claimants
and on behalf of people ineligible for benefits because they were imprisoned, including
one claimant in Texas.

The fraudulent applications falsely stated the claimants had prior annual incomes of
$42,000 and they were self-employed individuals whose jobs were adversely impacted
when salons and barbershop closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fraudulent
applications listed mailing addresses with locations chosen and controlled by Campbell
and his accomplices. Once the fraudulent applications were approved, debit cards were
mailed to those addresses.

One defendant – Dillon Roberts, 31, of Eagle Point, Oregon – recruited Texas residents
ineligible for California EDD benefits, including co-defendant Burns, to provide their PII
to generate fraudulent EDD claims and payments in their names.

In total, Campbell and others caused 174 fraudulent applications to be filed with EDD,
resulting in 125 fraudulent claims to be paid and resulting in total losses of
approximately $2,113,966.

Campbell, who pleaded guilty on March 6, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5 by
United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal. The other seven defendants are scheduled
to be sentenced in the coming months, including sentencing hearings scheduled for
June 26 for Burns and Tate.

As a result of their guilty pleas, each of the eight defendants faces statutory maximum
sentences of 30 years in federal prison for the conspiracy count and 30 years in federal
prison for the mail fraud charges.

The United States Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General and the California
Employment Development Department – Investigation Division are investigating this
matter. Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service,
the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Special Services Unit, and
the United States Secret Service provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Adam P. Schleifer of the Major Frauds Section is
prosecuting this case.

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

Contact
Thom Mrozek
Director of Media Relations
thom.mrozek@usdoj.gov
(213) 894-6947
Updated March 27, 2023

Topics
CORONAVIRUS
Component
USAO - California, Central
Release Number: 23-064


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