Victorville Woman Arrested on Indictment Alleging She Used Prison Inmates' Names (September 14, 2022)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, dated September 14, 2022, announcing the arrest of Cynthia Ann Hernandez of Victorville on a seven-count federal grand jury indictment. Hernandez is charged with four counts of mail fraud, one count of access device fraud in excess of $1,000, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment, from June 2020 to August 2020 Hernandez filed applications for unemployment insurance benefits with the California Employment Development Department in the names of persons incarcerated in the California state prison system. The debit cards issued in the claimants' names were mailed to Hernandez's mailing address, and the indictment alleges at least 29 fraudulent applications with losses of approximately $515,138.

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“Victorville Woman Arrested on Indictment Alleging She Used Prison Inmates' Names (September 14, 2022).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-victorville-woman-arrested-on-indictment-a-599e619fa0/, SHA-256 0781f1dd1fbafb8ff29eebf1e515ad6c5b5f075ca80bc1d5c8d238e7ebe958b3.

Full text

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        Wednesday, September 14, 2022

   Victorville Woman Arrested on Indictment Alleging She
  Used Prison Inmates’ Names to Fraudulently Obtain Over
                 $500,000 in COVID Relief
      RIVERSIDE, California – A San Bernardino County woman was arrested today on a
seven-count federal grand jury indictment alleging she fraudulently obtained more than $500,000
in pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by using the names of inmates locked
up the California state prison system.

      Cynthia Ann Hernandez, 32, a.k.a. “Cynthia Roberts,” of Victorville, was taken into
custody and is expected to appear for her arraignment tomorrow in United States District Court
in Riverside.

      Hernandez is charged with four counts of mail fraud, one count of access device fraud in
excess of $1,000, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

      According to the indictment returned on September 9, from June 2020 to August 2020,
Hernandez filed with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) fraudulent
applications for UI benefits in the names of persons incarcerated in the California state prison
system. EDD manages California’s unemployment insurance benefit program.

      Hernandez allegedly falsely stated on the UI benefits applications that the named claimants
were individuals whose employment had been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
and were eligible for pandemic unemployment assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security (CARES) Act. Congress passed the CARES Act in March 2020, in part, to
help individuals whose employment and finances were adversely affected by the pandemic.

      The applications also falsely stated that the named claimants were eligible for the UI
benefits and that they resided and worked in Los Angeles and Orange counties. EDD then
authorized Bank of America to issue debit cards in the claimants’ names and were mailed to
Hernandez’s mailing address, according to the indictment. Once Hernandez allegedly received
the debit cards, she used them to withdraw cash at ATMs and banking centers.

     In total, Hernandez allegedly caused at least 29 fraudulent applications to be filed with
EDD, resulting in losses to EDD and the United States Treasury of approximately $515,138.

      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.

      This matter was investigated by the United States Department of Labor – Office of
Inspector General; the California Employment Development Department – Investigation
Division; Homeland Security Investigations; the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation; the United States Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector
General; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and United States Customs and Border
Protection – Special Response Team.

      Assistant United States Attorney Solomon Kim of the Terrorism and Export Crimes
Section is prosecuting this case.

      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.
Topic(s):
Coronavirus
Identity Theft
Component(s):
USAO - California, Central
Contact:
Ciaran McEvoy Public Information Officer ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov (213) 894-4465
Press Release Number:
22-184
                                                                            Updated September 14, 2022

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Our copy: 2022-09-14-Victorville-Woman-Arrested-on-Indictment-Alleging-She-Used-Prison-Inmates-Names-to-Fraudulently-Obt.pdf
Original: www.oig.dol.gov