A group of five individuals, including a California Highway Patrol dispatcher and her spouse, are now facing charges in a $3.3 million scheme that involved collecting COVID-19 unemployment benefits fraudulently. The indictment, unsealed on Thursday according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, outlines the alleged conspiracy to use stolen identities to apply for jobless benefits meant for those unemployed due to the pandemic.
Included in the indictment are Erica Abson Robins, a 57-year-old California Highway Patrol dispatcher, and her husband Ronald Lee Robins, 62, who was incarcerated at the time of the alleged crimes. The defendants supposedly employed personal information, such as names and Social Security numbers, to file fraudulent unemployment applications, some of which were for children under the age of 18, and inmates who were not eligible for such benefits.
The justice department’s announcement detailed that Janet Clarise Gloria Theus, 44, and her mother Diane Clarise Theus, 78, alongside Dailen Spears, 24, were part of the scheme that ran from April 2020 to July 2022. The group reportedly utilized at least 293 applications in the scam, which resulted in payouts of around $3.3 million, including for illegitimate claims for minors and prisoners…