EDD Fraud: Feds Indict 2 In State Prison Scam To Rip Off EDD Benefits
FRESNO (CBS SF) -- A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging two defendants in a scheme that fraudulently used state prison inmate identities to rip off California Employment Development Department unemployment insurance benefits, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
The three-count indictment charged Jason Vertz, 51, of Fresno, and Alana Powers, 45, an inmate at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
The indictment was unsealed and Vertz was arraigned on Tuesday following his arrest.
According to court documents, Vertz and Powers submitted several fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in Powers and other inmates names to EDD.
Recorded jail calls and emails show that Powers and other inmates, provided names, dates of birth and social security numbers for inmates at Chowchilla to Vertz to submit the fraudulent claims.
Shortly thereafter, the benefits were loaded onto debit cards that were mailed to the addresses the defendants provided.
The underlying applications for the claims stated that the inmates had worked within the prescribed period as maids, cleaners, fabrication welders, and other occupations, and that they were available to work, which was not true because they were incarcerated.
The claims would have been denied if accurate answers had been given. EDD and the United States have suffered an actual loss of over $103,000 as a result of the fraud.
If convicted of the conspiracy to commit mail fraud, Vertz and Powers each face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. If convicted of the aggravated identity theft, they face a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to any other sentence.
