Ex-Aryan Brotherhood leader charged with California EDD fraud
Published
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A one-time top member of the notorious Aryan Brotherhood who claimed to have turned his life around after 45 years in prison is now charged with defrauding Northern Californians out of nearly $400,000 in unemployment benefits.
Michael Thompson, 69, was arrested Monday in Lake County. He and co-defendant Eric Hutchins, 45, are accused of taking advantage of at least 16 people last year as the state Employment Development Department was handing out money to help those whose jobs were lost because of business closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hutchins was arrested in late May, according to jail records.
Prosecutors allege that the men, who had met in prison, bilked mainly homeless people or transients who were living off Social Security or disability payments by pretending to counsel them.