Two Los Angeles Police Department officers, Police Officer III Peter Mastrocinque and Police Officer II Nicole Grant, were arrested Friday after prosecutors accused them of filing fraudulent unemployment insurance claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. The officers surrendered to authorities, were booked and released, and have been placed on administrative leave.
According to CBS Los Angeles, investigators say the pair submitted allegedly fraudulent unemployment insurance applications in 2020 and 2021. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office worked with the LAPD’s Special Operations Division to develop probable cause. The department says the Special Operations Division’s Major Complaint Unit, which focuses on workers’ compensation fraud, abuse of benefits, and other misconduct by department personnel, flagged the claims during a review of potentially fraudulent unemployment benefits.
Prosecutors Step Up Pandemic-Era Fraud Enforcement
The arrests landed in the middle of a wider crackdown on pandemic-related benefit abuse. In October 2025, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged 13 county employees with allegedly stealing more than $437,000 in unemployment benefits and warned that those defendants could face up to three years in state prison if convicted, per the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Earlier this year, the same office also charged another LAPD officer with felony insurance fraud after investigators said he went skydiving while on disability leave, according to a separate Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office press release.
What Officials Say and What Comes Next
LAPD said in a statement that its internal investigators are not taking the case lightly. “The Unit is committed to aggressively investigating fraud and benefits abuse to ensure accountability, safeguard public resources, and uphold the integrity of the Department,” the department said, in comments reported by CBS Los Angeles. Prosecutors filed charges after the review, and Mastrocinque and Grant now move into the criminal court process while investigators continue to examine the claims.
The case is one of several recent probes into benefits and disability claims involving public employees and highlights the ongoing scrutiny of pandemic-era payouts by prosecutors and internal watchdogs. Authorities have not announced court dates. The charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
