An Inglewood woman was detained on charges connected to a fraudulent scheme to rake in over $1.3 million in pandemic unemployment benefits, according to a recent indictment by a federal grand jury. Selena Stewart, aged 45, fell into the hands of law enforcement this Wednesday, facing allegations of using stolen identities, some belonging to Californian state prisoners, to submit over 100 depraved applications for COVID-19 jobless aid.
During an arraignment, Stewart entered a plea of not guilty against 14 counts, which includes 10 of mail fraud, one of use of an unauthorized access device, two of aggravated identity theft, and one count for possession of at least 15 unauthorized access devices. The Justice Department announced an August 26 trial date for this case, and a federal magistrate judge set Stewart's bond at $10,000.
According to the Justice Department, from March 2020 to December 2020, Stewart alongside co-defendants Toby Brazier and Tony Queen, allegedly exploited the California Employment Development Department (EDD) by filing fraudulent claims. The assertions purportedly made by the defendants in the applications of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits were found to be false, claiming COVID-19 impacts on self-employed individuals who had not resided or worked in California.
The fraudulent UI applications facilitated by Stewart and her co-conspirators allowed for Bank of America to dispatch debit cards in the names of victims, which were then used to withdraw cash and make purchases, inflicting a loss of over $1.3 million collectively to EDD and the U.S. Treasury. Her co-defendants, Brazier and Queen, are facing 10 counts of mail fraud each. While Queen is expected to make his court appearance next week, Brazier remains at large.
Stewart, if convicted, faces a potential total of 20 years in the federal prison for each count of mail fraud, up to 10 years for the unauthorized access device count, a mandatory two-year prison sentence to run consecutive on each count of aggravated identity theft, and up to 10 years for possession of at least 15 unauthorized access devices. The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, along with other federal and state entities, are currently investigating the matter. The public, as urged by the Department of Justice, can report any suspicions of COVID-19 related fraud to the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or through their official website.
