California woman and man charged with stealing more than $2 million in illegal COVID relief funds
- men and women from San Bernardino County They were arrested following a nine-count federal grand jury indictment accusing them of receiving more than $2.1 million in COVID-19 relief...
- Lisa Puente, 43, and Arthur Marquez, 53, both of Rialto, allegedly submitted more than 120 fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits using stolen identities from California inmates and...
- They claimed in their application that the victims lived and worked in California when most victims did not live there.
men and women from San Bernardino County They were arrested following a nine-count federal grand jury indictment accusing them of receiving more than $2.1 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Lisa Puente, 43, and Arthur Marquez, 53, both of Rialto, allegedly submitted more than 120 fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits using stolen identities from California inmates and out-of-state victims. was arrested on November 5th.
They claimed in their application that the victims lived and worked in California when most victims did not live there.
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A San Bernardino County man and woman have been arrested following a nine-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they received more than $2.1 million in COVID-19 relief funds. (iStock)
The U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors said: press release It is said that this plan was implemented from February 2020 to August 2023.
“The fraudulent applications falsely stated that they were individuals whose employment had been negatively impacted. COVID-19 infectious disease global pandemic, This triggers eligibility for (unemployment insurance) benefits under federal law,” according to the release.
Puente and Marquez used the charge-generated debit cards to withdraw benefits from ATMs and to withdraw money for purchases at local businesses.
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Puente and Marquez used the debit cards generated by the charges to withdraw benefits from ATMs and purchase items at local businesses. (Getty Images)
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They are currently facing charges 6 cases of mail fraudone count of unauthorized use of an access device and one count of aggravated identity theft.
“If convicted, the defendant faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of mail fraud, up to 10 years in federal prison for each count of unauthorized access devices, and a mandatory 2-year sentence for each count of aggravated criminal offense. He will be sentenced to consecutive years in prison. Number of cases of identity theft,” the official said.
Both men are being held on bail until their scheduled trial on December 30.