In a case of fraud and deception that has come to light in San Diego, a married couple, Alexandra Crystal McFarland and Demetrius Montre McFarland, stand accused of stealing IRS stimulus payments from vulnerable victims during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, using the ill-gotten gains to fund their luxurious lifestyle, including a high-end Mercedes-Benz vehicle and expensive jewelry, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The indictment, which was released today by the Southern District of California, alleges that between April 2020 and at least September 2020, Mrs. McFarland approached homeless and low-income individuals throughout Southern California, soliciting and collecting their personal identifying information (PII) under false pretenses. Mrs. McFarland would then reportedly use the collected PII, along with information gleaned from detainees at two local detention facilities, to submit applications for Economic Impact Payments (EIP) – commonly referred to as "stimulus payments" – from the IRS.
Mr. McFarland, who is currently serving a state prison term for attempted murder, is said to have provided his wife with the PII of fellow detainees at the Vista Detention Center. Mrs. McFarland's alleged modus operandi involved making false representations to obtain PII from the destitute and vulnerable, promising them a portion of the EIP in exchange for their information, though in reality, she would often keep the entire EIP or more than the agreed-upon amount.
Moreover, the indictment further alleges that Mrs. McFarland has used the stolen PII without lawful authority to apply for benefit payments from the State of California Employment Development Department (EDD), and misused EDD debit cards to make extravagant purchases. Among these purchases were thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry, nearly $9,000 in furniture that Mrs. McFarland had shipped to her Spring Valley residence, and part of a $60,000 down payment for a luxurious Mercedes-Benz G-Class 550 SUV.
Mrs. McFarland entered a not guilty plea on July 17, 2023, with a detention hearing scheduled for July 20, 2023 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael S. Berg, and a motion hearing and trial setting before U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel set for August 7, 2023. Mr. McFarland is expected to make his initial appearance on July 18, 2023, and will be arraigned on both the indictment and allegations that he violated the terms of supervised release imposed in his prior federal conviction for Conspiracy to Conduct Enterprise Affairs Through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity (RICO).
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to strengthen the Department of Justice's efforts in investigating and prosecuting fraudulent claims related to the pandemic with the support of agencies from across the government.
