Former Inmate Sentenced To 5 Years For Jailhouse COVID-19 Benefit Fraud - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2021) A former prison inmate who submitted fraudulent applications for unemployment benefits on behalf of current prisoners will return to jail for five years, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.

"Christina Smith, 38, who was formerly incarcerated at the Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, was sentenced today to five years in prison for conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges for the submission of fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) in the Names of current CCWF inmates," the department said in a press release.

According to court documents, a CCWF inmate sent Smith her own and several other inmates' personal identifying information to submit the unemployment insurance claims in their names, the statement said.

The scam cost California's EDD more than $250,000, which Smith split with the jailed recipients, with the funds coming from the sum allocated under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.