 |
Thom Mrozek (213) 894-6947 |
Return to the 2010 Press Release Index
Release No. 10-077
April 26, 2010
FORMER STATE EMPLOYEE SENTENCED TO 30 MONTHS FOR SCHEME INVOLVING OVER $30,000 IN UNEMPLOYMENT CHECKS
LOS ANGELES – A former employee at the California Employment Development Department was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay full restitution in a scheme that bilked the State of California out of more than $30,000 through the fraudulent issuance of unemployment benefit checks.
Martin Bautista, 40, of Compton, was sentenced by United States Circuit Judge Richard A. Paez, sitting by designation in the District Court. In addition to the prison term, Judge Paez ordered Bautista to pay $30,150 in restitution to EDD.
Bautista’s co-defendant, Francisco Gomez, 35, formerly of Riverside and now of Glendale, Arizona, was also sentenced today to 30 months in prison.
When he pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, Bautista admitted that he took over the unemployment insurance accounts of multiple victims while employed at the EDD’s Riverside office. As part of the scheme, Bautista caused EDD to issue more than $30,000 in checks for unemployment beneficiaries whose names were similar to Bautista’s and Gomez’s.
Bautista’s fraudulent conduct during the second half of 2007 was investigated jointly by the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General and the California EDD Investigation Division.
#####
Release No. 10-077
Return to the 2010 Press Release Index