AND IT’S EXPECTED TO BE HEARD IN AN ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE WITHIN A COUPLE WEEKS. AND THE STATE ASSEMBLY PASSED TWO IN A SERIES OF BILLS TO REFORM THE STETA’S TROUBLED EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. >> ASSEMBLY BILL 110 WOULD REIRQUE EDD CROSS REFERENCE RECORDS OF THOSE BEHIND BARS WITH UNEMPLOYMENT RECORDS AND APPLICATIONS. AFTER A KC 3RA INVESTIGAONTI REVEALED THE RAMPANT FRAUD BEING PERPETRATED AGAINST THE STATE’S UNEMPLOYMENT DEPARTMT,EN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ACROSS THE STATE STARTED THEIR OWN INVESTIGATION. THEY FOUND IN 2020, EVERY SINGLE JAIL AND PRISON HAD AT LEAST ONE INMATE’S NAME USEFOD UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. EDD HAS SAID THE AMOUNT OF FRAUD TH E AGENCY PAID OUT IS ANYWHEER FROM $10 MILLION TO $30 BILLION ALL OF IT FEDERAL MONEY DISTRIBUTED BY THE DEPARTMENT. ASMBSELY BILL 401 WOULD AITOM HELP CALIFORNIANS ACSSCE BENEFITS MORE EASILY. THE BILL WOULD INCREASE THE NUMBER OF RESOURCES FOR THOSE WHO SPEAK LIMITED ENGLISH. WHILE THERE ARE SOME RESOURCES IN SPANISH, 2.4 MILLION CALIFORNIANS SPEAK A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN SPANISH AND ENGLISH. THE BILL WOULD HELP EDD PROVIDE EXPANDED TRANSLATION OF APPLICATIONS, DOCUMENTS, AND NOTIS.CE ADDITIONAL DATA REPORTING AND A COMMUNITY REVIEW OF TRANSLATION SERVICES WOULD ALSO BE REQUI
2 accused of swindling $600K in EDD fraud, Sacramento DA says
Updated: 2:37 PM PDT Jun 7, 2021
Two people have been arrested on suspicion of illegally obtaining more than $600,000 in unemployment benefits, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office says.Adrian Sykes, 24, and his girlfriend, 26-year-old Brittney Murchison, are accused of filing multiple fraudulent claims with California’s troubled Employment Development Department. In total, 35 different fraudulent claims were filed using the personal identifying information of victims from across the country, according to a news release from the DA’s office. Law enforcement and the EDD launched a joint investigation into Sykes earlier this year after a probation search of his home revealed drugs, body armor, guns and EDD debit cards. At that time, Sykes was charged with six counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possessing drugs with a firearm and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. He posted bail and was released from custody.Sacramento police arrested Murchison, Sykes’ girlfriend, on May 27. She is facing 16 counts of EDD fraud and one count of identity theft, according to the DA’s office.Authorities tracked down Sykes and arrested him in Las Vegas on Monday. As of Monday afternoon, he was in Las Vegas pending extradition to Sacramento, where he will face an additional 35 counts of EDD fraud and one count of identity theft.”Law enforcement across the state has witnessed staggering EDD fraud committed by criminals and their accomplices. At the same time, we have witnessed an alarming increase of illegal firearms in our communities. This dangerous combination undoubtedly has fueled a dramatic increase in violent crime throughout the state,” District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said in a prepared statement. “Sacramento’s law enforcement agencies will continue to partner together to investigate EDD fraud and the additional havoc it brings to our community.”Schubert, who has said she is running for state attorney general in 2022, has made cracking down on EDD fraud one of her office’s priorities. With a consistent backlog of jobless claims, the worst fraud in California’s history and a lack of transparency, the EDD has been under fire since problems came to light in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.| MORE | EDD backlog and fraud timeline: How we got here
Two people have been arrested on suspicion of illegally obtaining more than $600,000 in unemployment benefits, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office says.
Adrian Sykes, 24, and his girlfriend, 26-year-old Brittney Murchison, are accused of filing multiple fraudulent claims with California’s troubled Employment Development Department. In total, 35 different fraudulent claims were filed using the personal identifying information of victims from across the country, according to a news release from the DA’s office.
[Video Above: CA Assembly passes EDD bill aimed at preventing prison fraud]
Law enforcement and the EDD launched a joint investigation into Sykes earlier this year after a probation search of his home revealed drugs, body armor, guns and EDD debit cards. At that time, Sykes was charged with six counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possessing drugs with a firearm and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. He posted bail and was released from custody.
Sacramento police arrested Murchison, Sykes’ girlfriend, on May 27. She is facing 16 counts of EDD fraud and one count of identity theft, according to the DA’s office.
Authorities tracked down Sykes and arrested him in Las Vegas on Monday.
As of Monday afternoon, he was in Las Vegas pending extradition to Sacramento, where he will face an additional 35 counts of EDD fraud and one count of identity theft.
“Law enforcement across the state has witnessed staggering EDD fraud committed by criminals and their accomplices. At the same time, we have witnessed an alarming increase of illegal firearms in our communities. This dangerous combination undoubtedly has fueled a dramatic increase in violent crime throughout the state,” District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said in a prepared statement. “Sacramento’s law enforcement agencies will continue to partner together to investigate EDD fraud and the additional havoc it brings to our community.”
Schubert, who has said she is running for state attorney general in 2022, has made cracking down on EDD fraud one of her office’s priorities.
With a consistent backlog of jobless claims, the worst fraud in California’s history and a lack of transparency, the EDD has been under fire since problems came to light in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
