A former employee of the California Employment Development Department (EDD), Phyllis Hope Stitt, admitted to fraudulently acquiring over $768,000 in COVID-19 unemployment payments for deceased individuals and other ineligible claimants. Phyllis, along with her former boyfriend Kenneth Earl Riley, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud on January 8. The fraudulent activities were perpetrated from March 2020 to September 2021, during Stitt’s tenure at the EDD.

Stitt had access to sensitive information such as names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers due to her job profile at EDD, where she was responsible for determining claimants’ unemployment benefits eligibility and claims processing. With this information, Stitt filed fraudulent unemployment and COVID-19 benefit applications for ineligible candidates. The fraudulent claims were made for individuals who were not unemployed due to the pandemic, were employed, or were deceased. Stitt also manipulated the EDD system by providing false information representing claimants as entitled to benefits. The payments were further controlled by providing return mailing addresses accessible to her co-conspirator.

These fraudulent applications resulted in the creation of bank accounts and debit cards, which were used to make ATM cash withdrawals, bank transfers, and retail purchases. The EDD’s failure to enhance its fraud prevention measures in time led to a payout of at least $10.4 billion for potentially fraudulent claims. Out of this amount, $1 billion was paid out to suspicious claimants due to EDD’s decision to forego a critical safeguard against payments to unidentified claimants. The EDD is now actively seeking restitution for the fraudulent activities and has committed itself to stringent background checks, strict protocols, and training to prevent fraudulent access to program and customer information.

Navigating the EDD system can be a complex task for individuals in California. To efficiently manage issues related to unemployment claims or to get in touch with an EDD representative, eddcaller.com can be a helpful resource. Not only does it provide the necessary contact information, but it also offers insights on how to reach an agent at EDD, ensuring that legitimate claimants can receive the assistance they need swiftly and securely.