Two defendants have been sentenced in an unemployment benefits fraud scheme, in which they pled guilty to submitting fraudulent California Employment Development Department (EDD) claims, resulting in a total loss of more than $500,000.

The defendants have filed more than 60 lawsuits against individuals and small businesses in Riverside County since 2019 alleging they were violating the ADA. The investigation showed that the defendants had specifically targeted the small businesses they sued as well as making misrepresentations in the legal documents they filed.

The DA’s Bureau of Investigation, Major Fraud Unit investigated this case. The Bureau is continuing to investigate numerous EDD fraud-related cases and expects further future arrests in other cases.