“Pandemic unemployment insurance benefits were meant for our citizens who were so greatly and unexpectedly impacted by unemployment,” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona. “I applaud the investigative work that is taking place to identify, arrest and prosecute those who illegally obtained unemployment benefits during this time.”
SAN DIEGO – On July 22, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that nine San Diego County residents were charged in two separate indictments with conspiracy to commit wire fraud involving fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Insurance claims.
In case number 21-CR-2154-CAB, Matthew Lombardo, Konrad Piekos, Ryan Genetti, and Dobrila Milosavljevic were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Lombardo, Piekos, and Genetti were also charged with aggravated identity theft. In addition, Lombardo was charged with unauthorized disclosure of health information, a felony.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint related to case number 21-CR-2154-CAB, Lombardo, while employed by a local hospital, stole confidential patient files, and provided them to co-defendants Piekos, Genetti, and Milosavljevic, to submit to EDD for pandemic unemployment insurance benefits.
In case number 21-CR-2153-CAB, Lindsay Renee Henning, Garrett Carl Tuggle, Salvatore Compilati, and Ryan David Genetti, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Henning and Tuggle were also charged with aggravated identity theft. Henning, Tuggle, and Juan Landon were also charged with conspiracy to distribute MDMA and LSD. Tuggle was also charged with possessing methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin with intent to distribute.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint related to case number 21-CR-2153-CAB, the wire fraud conspiracy involved more than 108 separate claims that together paid out $1,615,000. The affidavit also describes how defendants conspired to distribute controlled substances.
The charges are the product of investigations jointly undertaken by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Investigations (DOL-OI), the San Diego Sheriff’s Department (SDSD), the California Employment Development Department Office of Investigations (EDD OI), United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Investigators initiated investigations in both cases after traffic stops led to the discovery of contraband and text messages on cellular phones laying out the schemes. The text messages were corroborated through court-authorized searches of phones and residences and by a detailed analysis of EDD databases.
All defendants except for Juan Landon have made their initial appearance in federal court.
