Fomer Sacramento Resident Accused In Million-Dollar EDD Fraud Scheme
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A Las Vegas resident was arrested Tuesday on federal charges involving an alleged unemployment insurance fraud scheme that netted him more than a million dollars, according to authorities.
Terence Aubrey Larker, 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury last week, charging him with eight counts of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. The indictment was unsealed Tuesday after Larker's arrest in Las Vegas, said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Phillip Talbert in a press statement.
The former Sacramento resident is accused of obtaining the personally identifying information of more than 80 people and filing fraudulent unemployment insurance benefit claims under their identities through the California Employment development Department (EDD).
The EDD approved many of the fraudulent applications and mailed to Larker benefits from the state, the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, designed for people who could not find work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. EDD mailed the benefits in the form of prepaid debit cards to addresses under Larker's control, including at least 24 to his home address in Sacramento, according to Talbert.
Larker then activated the cards and spent the benefits on himself, often appearing in ATM surveillance footage taking out large amounts of cash from these cards, Talbert said. Larker allegedy managed to obtain $1.1 million in fraudulent claims from the EDD and the federal goverment.
"We greatly appreciate the strong work of our federal law enforcement partners who investigate these complex cases and bring perpetrators to justice," said EDD Director Nancy Farias in a prepared statement.
California's EDD has been plagued with fraudulent claims during the COVID pandemic, with an estimated $20 billion paid out to criminals, accounting for about 11% of total claims paid.
