Millions in California coronavirus jobless benefits sent to out-of-state prisoners [Los Angeles Times :: BC-CALIF-BENEFITS-FRAUD:LA]
LOS ANGELES In the latest revelation of potential criminal fraud involving California jobless benefits, an analysis has found that more than $42 million in claims went to out-of-state prison and jail inmates, giving more clarity to what officials now estimate could be $4 billion in scammed coronavirus relief funds.
A large number of Florida inmates, including a man sentenced to 20 years for second-degree murder, are among the thousands of out-of-state prisoners who have allegedly received California pandemic unemployment benefits, according to a December analysis commissioned by the state Employment Development Department and reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.
The new total is nearly three times the $140 million in claim payments estimated last week by a group of California DAs and a federal prosecutor.
The analysis identified inmates receiving California benefits in other states, including Nevada, Illinois and South Carolina. Prison officials in Nevada and Illinois did not immediately comment on the allegations, but South Carolina Department of Corrections spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said her department had “not been notified by California authorities or anyone that any of our inmates are involved in this.”
Officials with the district attorney’s offices in Clark County and Washoe County in Nevada said that any allegations of inmate fraud allegations would be handled by Nevada’s attorney general’s office.