Two individuals from San Bernardino County have been arrested in connection with an alleged scheme that defrauded the California Employment Development Department and the U.S. Treasury of over $2 million in COVID-19 relief funds, according to federal officials.
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that Lisa Puente, 43, of Rialto, and Arthur Marquez, 53, of San Bernardino, conducted the scheme from February 2020 to August 2023. The two are accused of submitting more than 120 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, using identities stolen from California prison inmates and victims from other states.
The false claims reportedly stated that the applicants were affected by pandemic-related job loss, which qualified them for federal unemployment benefits. Once issued, the debit cards associated with these fraudulent claims were allegedly used by Puente and Marquez for ATM cash withdrawals and purchases at local businesses.
In total, 124 fraudulent claims were filed, resulting in the theft of approximately $2,136,768 in unemployment insurance funds, prosecutors allege. Puente and Marquez were arrested on November 5 and face charges including six counts of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of unauthorized access device use.
The defendants, now released on bond, are scheduled to begin trial on December 30. If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each mail fraud count, up to 10 years for unauthorized access device use, and a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for aggravated identity theft.