A Riverside County woman, named Sasha Lizette Jimenez, has been clapped in irons for nearly 3½ years after cooking up a multi-million dollar fraud scheme that preyed on unemployment insurance funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 26-year-old was sentenced to 41 months in the slammer on Monday and ordered to cough up more than $2.3 million in restitution, according to the Justice Department.
Jimenez, who was living high on the hog in Placentia before moving to Riverside County, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. She admitted to helping to wrongfully apply for north of $2.8 million in unemployment insurance benefits from the California Employment Development Department (EDD). This loot included pandemic unemployment assistance, designed specifically to help those out of work due to the global health crisis, not for scams. The Justice Department noted that bank records revealed an EDD card had been used to splurge on luxury jewelry, evidencing the extravagant benefits of the fraudulent activity.
Working with her partner in crime and boyfriend, Meshach Samuels, who's already facing his stretch of 90 months behind bars, Jimenez used stolen personal info, which prosecutors say at times was sourced from the shadowy corners of the dark web, to bleed the system. The pair’s shakedown impacted not just Californians, but individuals beyond the state's borders, including some who had already passed away.
In total, the twisted scheme resulted in at least $2,804,508 of stolen benefits being paid out. These funds were siphoned off through EDD debit accounts, and a staggering $2,304,203 was illicitly withdrawn. A memo from prosecutors highlighted that "[b]ank records show that in 2020, an EDD card in the name of victim S.S. was used to purchase luxury jewelry from Peter Marco, a Beverly Hills jewelry business frequented by [Jimenez]," as captured in a statement by the Justice Department.
The Los Angeles El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, a unit champing at the bit for financial crooks in Southern California, spearheaded the investigation that put Jimenez behind bars. Their posse included the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and various police departments across the nation, according to the Justice Department. Assistant United States Attorney Rachel N. Agress prosecuted the case, ensuring that one more fraudster was off the streets.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is turning the heat up on pandemic-related fraudsters and encouraging the public to spill the beans on any suspicious activity. Anyone with tips about COVID-19 fraud schemes can drop a dime by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or by submitting information online through the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
