PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — Two inmates in the Placer County Jail were convicted after being accused of fraudulently applying for unemployment benefits with the Employee Development Department (EDD) while behind bars.
Placer County Sheriff’s deputies began looking into reports of possible EDD fraud by inmates in jail in October 2020. Based on their investigation, deputies learned that 25-year-old Kevyn Arquieta and 41-year-old Fernando Alvarado had both applied for and received benefits from the EDD.
“Due to the overwhelming number of individuals requesting assistance during the pandemic, the EDD allowed independent contractors to apply for unemployment benefits without verifying their income,” Placer County Sheriff’s officials wrote in a press release about the investigation.
“As a result, California inmates applied for and received unemployment benefits while they were in custody, stating they were independent contractors or self-employed.”
The two men were working together, according to investigators. In all, investigators say Arquieta got about $19,000 in benefits while Alvarado received $4,000 in benefits.
Both men were convicted and sentenced to additional prison time for fraud, along with their other felony charges, and ordered to pay restitution to the EDD, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office along with the Placer County District Attorney’s Office continues to investigate EDD fraud by inmates.
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