RIO LINDA, Calif. — A woman was arrested in a Rio Linda home in connection with an EDD fraud scheme in the early morning hours Tuesday, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office confirmed.
Nicholas Johnson, Deputy District Attorney for Sacramento County, told ABC10 that the Rio Linda woman had allegedly been involved in an EDD fraud ring with two prison inmates.
The group reportedly received more than $124,000 in unemployment benefits, though this is a fraction of the billions of dollars in benefits that Bank of America says California has paid in fraudulent claims.
Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies went to the Rio Linda home on I Street on the morning of Mar. 23, where the woman was arrested as part of this bust. Another person was also arrested at the home. Johnson said that man was charged with crimes unrelated to the EDD scheme.
“Today’s raids send a clear message that we are taking EDD fraud seriously. Fraud like this will not be tolerated, will not be ignored, and will not go unpunished,” Johnson said in a statement to ABC10.
Johnson said that the DA's office has been looking into this fraud for months now, and is currently investigating other similar crimes involving fraudulently filed unemployment claims. According to the deputy district attorney, California is facing an epidemic of inmates committing EDD fraud.
As with several other schemes like this one, Johnson said that the two inmates in an undisclosed prison coordinated with the Rio Linda woman. They gave their information or other inmates' information to the person on the outside, who then filed the unemployment claims.
The three people involved in the EDD fraud ring will be charged with conspiracy and unemployment insurance fraud, according to the DA's office. Those already in prison are looking at additional time. Johnson said that the three would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
