U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Six Defendants Arrested on Federal Grand Jury Indictment Alleging They Fraudulently Obtained $2 Million in COVID-19 Jobless Benefits (USAO CD-CA 07/06/2022) (2022-07-08)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, dated July 6, 2022, announcing the arrest of six defendants charged in a 14-count indictment, returned on June 23, that charges eight defendants with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment, from March 2020 to July 2021 lead defendant Robert Campbell Jr., 29, of Corona, orchestrated a conspiracy with others, including Regjinay Tate, to file fraudulent unemployment insurance applications in others' names with the California Employment Development Department. The applications generally claimed the claimants were self-employed salon and barbershop workers with prior annual income of $42,000. The indictment alleges that 174 fraudulent applications led to 125 paid claims and losses of approximately $2,091,436.

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

“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Six Defendants Arrested on Federal Grand Jury Indictment Alleging They Fraudulently Obtained $2 Million in COVID-19 Jobless Benefits (USAO CD-CA 07/06/2022) (2022-07-08).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-six-defendants-arrested-on-federal-grand-j-dd09922355/, SHA-256 27a2312d0e2aa4f51d63cd923327cd36566af52d88a97918918f6c09307b0a69.

Full text

                                     Department of Justice
                                        U.S. Attorney’s Office
                                    Central District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Six Defendants Arrested on Federal Grand Jury Indictment
Alleging They Fraudulently Obtained $2 Million in COVID-19
                     Jobless Benefits
      LOS ANGELES – Law enforcement today arrested six defendants charged in a federal grand
jury indictment alleging they fraudulently obtained more than $2 million in COVID-19-related
unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by submitting fraudulent applications in the names of others
that falsely asserted, among other things, that the claimants were salon and barbershop workers
rendered jobless because of the pandemic.

     The 14-count indictment, returned on June 23 and unsealed today, charges eight defendants
with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The defendants
arrested today are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in
Riverside, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Houston, and tomorrow in Medford, Oregon. Two of the
defendants are fugitives.

      According to the indictment, from March 2020 to July 2021, Robert Campbell Jr., 29, of
Corona, the case’s lead defendant, orchestrated a conspiracy to steal the UI benefits. Campbell and
his co-conspirators, including Regjinay Tate, 28, also of Corona, allegedly 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 (PUA) and Lost Wage
Assistance (LWAP) programs.

     According to the indictment, many of the fraudulent claims were made on behalf of ineligible
out-of-state claimants as well as on behalf of claimants ineligible for benefits because of their
incarceration, including one claimant in Texas. One of the conspirators boasted about obtaining a
homeless man’s PII, the indictment alleges.

     Generally, the fraudulent applications falsely stated the claimants’ prior annual income at
$42,000 and that they were unemployed 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 co-
conspirators, the indictment alleges.

     Once the fraudulent applications were approved, debit cards were then mailed to addresses
under the control of Campbell and his co-conspirators. Other members of the conspiracy allegedly
arranged for some of the fraudulently obtained UI benefits to be disbursed to claimants living
outside of California, including in Oregon and Texas.
      In total, Campbell and others allegedly caused 174 fraudulent applications to be filed with EDD,
resulting in 125 fraudulent claims to be paid to 116 unique claimants, causing losses of approximately
$2,091,436.

      An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant
is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

      If convicted of all charges, the defendants would face statutory maximum sentences of 30 years
in federal prison on each of the conspiracy and mail fraud counts, and a mandatory two-year
consecutive prison sentence on the aggravated identity theft counts.

     This matter is being investigated by the United States Department of Labor – Office of
Inspector General and the California Employment Development Department – Investigation
Division, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations; the United States Postal Inspection
Service; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – Special Services Unit; and the
United States Secret Service.

      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.
Topic(s):                                              Contact:
Coronavirus                                            Ciaran McEvoy Public Information Officer
                                                       ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov (213) 894-4465
Component(s):
USAO - California, Central                             Press Release Number:
                                                       22-133

File and source

File: 2022-07-08-Six-Defendants-Arrested-on-Federal-Grand-Jury-Indictment-Alleging-They-Fraudulently-Obtained-2-Mill.pdf
Size: 107,312 bytes
SHA-256: 27a2312d0e2aa4f51d63cd923327cd36566af52d88a97918918f6c09307b0a69
Our copy: 2022-07-08-Six-Defendants-Arrested-on-Federal-Grand-Jury-Indictment-Alleging-They-Fraudulently-Obtained-2-Mill.pdf
Original: www.oig.dol.gov