SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal prosecutors have charged three Southern California women with using prison inmates’ names to bilk a state agency out of a combined nearly $1.25 million.
They are the latest allegations in an ongoing scandal that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars in coronavirus-related unemployment benefits.
The three are among a dozen charged just in the greater Los Angeles area with exploiting federal benefits that were supposed to aid those who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Auditors in January said the state-approved at least $810 million in the names of roughly 45,000 inmates. Attorneys for the three women didn't comment.
California health officials and Newsom agree to reopen California's economy when the vaccine supply is sufficient, and COVID-19 hospitalizations are low and steady.
