A 30-year-old man from Corona, known as Robert Campbell Jr., has been handed a five-year, eight-month prison sentence for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that involved filing fake unemployment claims and stealing over $2 million in taxpayer funds during the COVID-19 lockdowns. This sentence was imposed on Monday by U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal at the federal courthouse in downtown Riverside.
Campbell had previously pleaded guilty in March to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud with benefits related to a public health emergency. He had been out on a $100,000 bond since his arrest in July 2022.
The case against Campbell was part of a larger investigation that involved multiple agencies, including the Office of the Inspector General of the California Employment Development Department, the U.S. Postal Service, and the U.S. Secret Service. He was the main defendant in the scheme, which resulted in $2.11 million in fraudulent gains, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors revealed that Campbell and his accomplices took advantage of the expanded eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law by former President Donald Trump in March 2020. They exploited programs such as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Lost Wage Assistance.
The conspirators obtained personal information, including names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers, from multiple individuals. Some of the individuals were not even residents of California and included a prisoner from Texas and a homeless person. The defendants falsified applications to make it appear as if the claimants had an annual income of at least $42,000 and were self-employed, facing financial hardships due to the lockdowns. Campbell and his accomplices even invented the locations of fictitious businesses, such as barber shops and hair salons.
Using the stolen personal information, the conspirators filed 174 fraudulent unemployment claims with the Employment Development Department (EDD), resulting in 125 of those claims being paid out. This information was confirmed by a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Campbell’s sentence marks the conclusion of this fraud case, with the other defendants receiving various sentences ranging from home confinement to 18 months in prison over the past year.
Auditors estimate that fraudulent claims for CARES Act unemployment relief funding have caused losses exceeding $30 billion, with funds being dispersed to individuals and entities outside of California, including prisoners and jail detainees.
Multiple state and federal convictions have been secured as a result of these investigations, with some cases still awaiting resolution in Riverside County.
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