September 22, 2025 – Sacramento resident Roosevelt Gulley III, 41 years old, admitted in court to his participation in a wire fraud and aggravated identity theft scheme. As announced by U.S. Attorney Eric Grant, Gulley was involved in a fraud scheme targeting the Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefit program managed by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from July to September 2020. Utilizing stolen personal information, Gulley filed a minimum of 79 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims which led to UI benefits debit cards being issued and delivered to addresses designated in the applications. Gulley managed to extract money from these debit cards at various ATMs. The total loss from Gulley’s fraudulent actions is estimated to be more than $575,000, with the projected loss exceeding $1.5 million. The case resulted from a cooperative investigation between the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General and the California EDD’s Investigation Division, with aid from the U.S. Secret Service. On Jan. 26, 2026, U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd is scheduled to pass the final verdict on Gulley’s case. The maximum punishment for wire fraud is a 20-year prison term and an additional mandatory two-year term for aggravated identity theft.

In light of fraudulent incidents such as this, the EDD stresses the importance of beneficiaries carefully protecting their personal information. For any concerns or queries related to unemployment insurance claims or if you suspect potential fraudulent activity, the EDD encourages individuals to directly reach out to them. Information on how to get a hold of EDD can be found on the official website, eddcaller.com. Available resources include the EDD phone number, and further instructions on how to get through to EDD live customer service are also provided. The site aims to provide easier access for beneficiaries and help them get the assistance they need promptly.