Woman Sentenced for Role in COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits Fraud Scheme

A California woman was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for participating in a conspiracy to fraudulently acquire COVID-19 unemployment benefits.

From June 2021 through March 2022, Sasha Lizette Jimenez, 26, and her accomplices used stolen identities purchased on the dark web to fraudulently obtain approximately $2.8 million in unemployment insurance benefits from the California Employment Development Department (EDD).
After acquiring the stolen personal identifying information (PII), Jimenez and her accomplices used it to fill fraudulent EDD applications. They …

benefits california covid dark dark web federal fraud identities june march prison role sentenced stolen unemployment web