“We applaud the intense amount of work being done by state and federal investigators to find, charge, and prosecute those who took advantage of the government’s efforts to quickly help families in financial need when the pandemic resulted in sudden unemployment for so many hardworking individuals.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

LOS ANGELES –On January 23, 2023, a San Bernardino County woman pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $500,000 in COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by using the names of inmates locked up the California state prison system.

Cynthia Ann Hernandez, 33, a.k.a. “Cynthia Roberts,” of Victorville, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of access device fraud in excess of $1,000.

According to her plea agreement, from June 2020 to August 2020, Hernandez filed with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) fraudulent applications for UI benefits in the names of people incarcerated in the California state prison system. EDD manages California’s unemployment insurance benefit program.

Hernandez falsely stated on the UI benefits applications that the named claimants were individuals whose employment had been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and were eligible for pandemic unemployment assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Congress passed the CARES Act in March 2020, in part, to help individuals whose employment and finances were adversely affected by the pandemic.

The applications also falsely stated that the named claimants were eligible for the UI benefits and that they resided and worked in Los Angeles and Orange counties. EDD then authorized Bank of America to issue debit cards in the claimants’ names and were mailed to Hernandez’s mailing address. Once Hernandez received the debit cards, she used them to withdraw cash at ATMs.

In total, Hernandez admitted to causing at least 29 fraudulent applications to be filed with EDD, resulting in losses to EDD and the United States Treasury of approximately $515,138.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for April 17th, at which time Hernandez will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the mail fraud count and up to 15 years in federal prison for the access device fraud count.

This matter was investigated by the:

• United States Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General;
• California Employment Development Department – Investigation Division;
• Homeland Security Investigations;
• California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation;
• United States Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General;
• United States Postal Inspection Service;
• United States Customs and Border Protection – Special Response Team.