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U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Sioux City Woman Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Related Unemployment Fraud (USAO ND-IA 04/20/2021) (2021-04-29)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa, dated April 20, 2021, announcing that Linda Bosquez, age 59, of Sioux City, Iowa, pled guilty to theft of government funds. In a plea agreement, Bosquez admitted that from April 30, 2020 through July 22, 2020 Bosquez stole at least $24,235 from the United States Department of the Treasury by falsely claiming unemployment benefits, in Bosquez's name and those of others, through Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Ohio. The release states that Bosquez received at least 35 ACH credits for unemployment insurance claims and made approximately 11 cash withdrawals totaling approximately $27,299.30. Bosquez was also receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits at the time.

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Cite this document

“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Sioux City Woman Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Related Unemployment Fraud (USAO ND-IA 04/20/2021) (2021-04-29).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-sioux-city-woman-pleads-guilty-to-covid-19-513deee1e2/, SHA-256 35e96cfd3bfa5278d73331e2d18931760e37fe43226532b30ac091ca59b9d4ee.

Full text

                                      Department of Justice
                                        U.S. Attorney’s Office
                                      Northern District of Iowa


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       Tuesday, April 20, 2021

      Sioux City Woman Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Related
                    Unemployment Fraud
                  Bosquez stole over $24,000 in under three months.
A Sioux City woman who stole government funds using a COVID-19 unemployment scheme pled
guilty on April 20, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Linda Bosquez, age 59, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of theft of government funds. In a plea
agreement, Bosquez admitted that from April 30, 2020 through July 22, 2020, she stole at least
$24,235 from the United States Department of the Treasury.

Bosquez falsely claimed, in her name and those of others, unemployment benefits, through the States
of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio, including benefits related to COVID-19 relief funds to
which she was not entitled.

Bosquez received a total of at least 35 ACH credits (electronic deposits) for unemployment insurance
claims (32 from Georgia, 1 from Michigan, 1 from Ohio, and 1 from Arizona). Bosquez made
approximately 11 cash withdrawals following unemployment insurance credits, totaling
approximately $27,299.30. Bosquez was receiving benefits from other states via ACH and prepaid
cards in the names of other individuals, while she was also receiving Social Security Disability
Insurance (SSDI) benefits.

The case was prosecuted by United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the
United States Department of Labor and the Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.

Rooting out COVID-19 fraud is a priority of the Department of Justice. On March 27, 2020, the
President signed the CARES Act, which provides emergency assistance to individuals, families, and
businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including increased unemployment benefits.

These prosecutions are an example of the Department of Justice’s strong commitment to combating
fraud and criminal activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web
Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Sentencing for Bosquez will be before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand
and will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Bosquez will remain free on bond pending
sentencing. Bosquez faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000
fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 21-CR-4029.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Topic(s):                          Component(s):
Financial Fraud                    USAO - Iowa, Northern

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Original
www.oig.dol.gov
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