A man and woman from San Bernardino County were detained after a nine-count federal grand jury indictment charging they received more than $2.1 million in Covid-19 relief monies.
Lisa Puente, 43, of Rialto, and Arthur Marquez, 53, were arrested on November 5 for allegedly submitting over 120 bogus unemployment insurance claims using stolen identities from California state prisoners and out-of-state victims.
They stated in their applications that the victims had previously lived and worked in California, despite the fact that the majority of victims did not.
Prosecutors from the United States Department of Justice revealed in a press statement that the conspiracy operated from February 2020 until August 2023.
“The fraudulent applications falsely stated that they were individuals whose employment had been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered eligibility for [unemployment insurance] benefits under federal law,” according to the news release.
Puente and Marquez utilized debit cards issued by the claims to withdraw benefits from ATMs and make purchases at local businesses.
They are currently accused with six charges of mail fraud, one offense of using illegal access devices, and one case of aggravated identity theft.
“If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each mail fraud count, up to 10 years in federal prison for the unauthorized access device count, and a mandatory two-year consecutive prison sentence for the aggravated identity theft count,” according to government officials.
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