SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento man was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for fraudulently claiming more than $200,000 in EDD benefits, as well as a slew of other charges including drug and weapons possession.
Walter Lee Dawson, 30, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison on five counts of fraud for applying for unemployment benefits through the Employment Development Department (EDD), according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Dawson was first arrested in December 2020 after a probation officer and Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies did a compliance search at his home. During the search, deputies found nine EDD cards issued in different names as well as 20 additional EDD documents in other names.
Deputies also found a gun with its serial number removed, ammunition, 3.8 pounds of marijuana, and $58,000 in cash during the compliance search.
A follow-up investigation by the DA’s office, the EDD, and others determined that Dawson had stolen more than $219,000 from the nine EDD cards he had obtained.
In addition to the prison sentence, Dawson has been ordered to pay $219,964 in restitution to EDD. The cash and all money left on the found EDD cards will be turned over to EDD as restitution as well.
