LOS ANGELES – A former California Employment Development Department (EDD) employee and her ex-boyfriend received federal prison sentences today for fraudulently claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 jobless benefits.
Phyllis Hope Stitt, 61, of Carson, was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison by United States District Judge André Birotte Jr., who also ordered her to pay $768,958 in restitution.
Judge Birotte also sentenced Kenneth Earl Riley, 64, of South Los Angeles, to 20 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $611,458 in restitution.
Stitt and Riley had been in a romantic relationship for over 10 years at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stitt worked as an employment program representative at EDD, where she determined claimant eligibility for unemployment benefits and handled claim processing.
Between March 2020 and September 2021, Stitt used her job access to gather victims’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and other personal details, which she then used to submit fraudulent claims.
She filed fake unemployment benefit applications without the victims’ knowledge or consent, increasing the payout amounts by backdating the claims to maximize benefits.
Stitt certified these false claims, stating that the victims had provided employment history and driver’s license information, were unemployed due to the pandemic, and were actively seeking work.
Many victims were ineligible for benefits because they were employed, not unemployed due to COVID-19, or deceased at the time.
Stitt used mailing addresses accessible to Riley. Riley then accessed debit cards and accounts created from the fraudulent claims, making ATM withdrawals, bank transfers, and retail purchases.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General formed the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to coordinate efforts across government agencies to fight pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force strengthens investigations and prosecutions against major domestic and international fraudsters while helping agencies prevent fraud by sharing resources, strategies, and intelligence. Learn more at https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General appointed the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Central and Eastern Districts of California to co-lead one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. This Strike Force targets large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud by criminal groups and individuals, combining law enforcement and prosecutors to identify and prosecute offenders. More details at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-covid-19-fraud-strike-force-teams.
Anyone with information about attempted COVID-19 fraud can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or submitting a complaint at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
This investigation involved the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the California Employment Development Department Investigation Division.
