(The Center Square) – A Colorado man will serve a three-year state prison sentence for fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits, filing a false tax return and identity theft of two deceased individuals, according to Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office.
Ryan Gerald Garbiso, 43, of Commerce City entered a plea agreement to two felonies. He will pay restitution of $25,051, which was the amount he fraudulently obtained in unemployment benefits from May through September 2020. He also will pay $1,684 to the Colorado Department of Revenue involving the false tax return.
“Unemployment benefits were a lifeline for thousands of workers and their families during the pandemic, and this defendant stole not only from those workers, but all Colorado taxpayers,” Weiser said in a statement. “This case is another step forward in holding accountable those who defraud our safety net and ensuring benefits go only to Coloradans who need them.”
Garbiso allegedly committed theft, cybercrime, identity theft, criminal impersonation and illegally attempting to influence another.