Three more charged in benefits fraud scheme

Three more people were charged in San Diego Superior Court for their roles in in what prosecutors say was a massive fraud against the state unemployment benefits fund, making it an even dozen people who have been charged by District Attorney Summer Stephan.

The trio is accused of making fraudulent claims for jobless benefits from the state system that totaled $1.3 million, according to a news release from Stephan’s office. Prosecutors say the defendants used the names and identities of at least 64 state prison inmates to apply for the benefits.

State prison inmates are ineligible to get unemployment benefits, but hundreds in jails and prisons have done so — bilking the state out of an estimated $400 million, state officials have said.

As large as that amount is, it is only a portion of the overall amount of suspected fraud. In January the state confirmed that it had paid out $11.4 billion in fraudulent claims, and was investigating another $19 billion worth of claims. The money was scammed from an unemployment relief fund bolstered by billions in funds from the federal government earmarked for workers who lost jobs or wages because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The state paid out $114 billion in claims since March 2020, which would mean the $30 billion of suspected fraud would equal about 26 percent of all claims paid.

The three charged are Ryan Kubista, 34; Maereichelle Marquez, 34; and Stacy Wright, 61. Marquez was arraigned in court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. Kubista may be arraigned on Friday and Wright posted bail and is set to return to court on Aug. 4 for arraignment.

Stephan has said the total amount of fraud committed in San Diego County could amount to $5 million. In January she announced charges against nine people accused of netting $160,000 in the scam. All of the defendants were inmates serving the final part of their sentences in a program that allowed them to live in a halfway house.

The news release said the three new defendants used the personal information of the inmates to get the benefits, which were sent via bank debit cards mailed to their homes or post office boxes.