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United States Department of Labor / Government Entities: Working Together to Gain the Greatest Impact

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Government Entities: Working Together to Gain the Greatest Impact

Employment Development Department

The Employment Development Department’s (EDD) Tax Branch works with employers to collect California’s employment taxes and data to support the employment security, child support, and personal income tax programs. The Tax Branch is committed to providing service to California employers and Unemployment Insurance, State Disability Insurance, and Paid Family Leave benefit claimants and to increasing voluntary compliance with payroll tax laws through education, simplified reporting processes, and the promotion of fair business competition.

The EDD’s Investigation Division Criminal Tax Enforcement Program is a specialized law enforcement unit that investigates criminal violations of the CUIC, the California Penal Code, and the United States Code for federal prosecutions. This unit is staffed by sworn peace officers who work with law enforcement agencies throughout California and the JESF partner agencies to identify and prosecute employer fraud. They conduct surveillance, perform undercover operations, interview witnesses, initiate search warrants, and submit completed investigations to prosecutors to convict individuals who commit employment tax fraud. The EDD determines if the convicted party made restitution, is still on active probation, and obeys all laws with respect to the future filing of returns and payments. The conviction itself and the collection of the tax liabilities play an integral part in deterring the underground economy. The EDD also collaborates on workers’ compensation insurance investigations related to state payroll tax violations.

Department of Consumer Affairs

The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) protects and serves California consumers and ensures a competent and fair marketplace. The DCA helps consumers learn how to protect themselves from unscrupulous and unqualified individuals. The DCA protects professionals from unfair competition by identifying unlicensed practitioners.

The DCA – Contractors’ State License Board (CSLB) protects consumers by licensing and regulating California’s construction industry. There are about 300,000 licensed contractors in the State, in 43 different licensing classifications. In addition to consumer education on contractor and construction law, CSLB activities include: administer prospective licensee examinations; issue licenses; investigate complaints against licensed and unlicensed contractors; issue citations; suspend or revoke licenses; and seek administrative, criminal, and civil sanctions against violators. The CSLB’s Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) is set up to monitor and combat illegal activity. They have teams throughout the state that conduct sting operations on a regular basis and sweep construction sites. They also conduct joint operations and sweeps with other state agencies dedicated to combat underground activity.

The DCA – Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) investigates general auto repair complaints and ensures that shops comply with Smog Check statutes. Each year, the BAR handles more than 14,800 complaints related to auto repair and/or Smog Check inspections. The BAR staff investigates complaints and negotiates with the shop on the consumer’s behalf to achieve a mutually agreeable resolution. The bulk of complaints are resolved by mediation. Each year, the BAR returns over $6.3 million to California consumers in the form of direct refunds, rework, or adjustments.

The DCA – Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) protects consumers by licensing and regulating the following industries: alarm company operator and alarm company employees; locksmith companies and locksmith company employees; private investigators; private patrol operators and security guards; proprietary private security officers and employers; repossessor agencies and repossessor agency employees; and training facilities and training instructors. As part of its mission, the BSIS actively investigates complaints against its licensees and works to punish unlicensed business operations. This includes the suspension and revocation of licenses and seeking administrative, criminal, and civil sanctions against violators. Undercover sting and sweep operations are conducted on an ongoing basis throughout California. The BSIS also educates consumers, administers examinations to validate prospective licensees, and issues licenses and permits.

Department of Industrial Relations

The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) – Division of Labor Standards Enforcement’s (DLSE), Bureau of Field Enforcement is responsible for investigation and enforcement of statutes covering workers’ compensation insurance coverage, child labor, cash pay, unlicensed contractors, Industrial Welfare Commission orders, and group claims involving minimum wage and overtime claims. The Bureau of Field Enforcement also handles criminal investigations involving these group claims.

The DIR – Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s enforcement unit has jurisdiction over every employment situation and place of employment in California which is necessary to adequately enforce and administer all occupational safety and health standards and regulations. They conduct inspections of California workplaces in response to a report of an industrial accident, a complaint about an occupational safety and health hazard, or as part of an inspection program targeting industries which have a high rate of occupational hazards, fatalities, injuries, or illnesses.

California Department of Insurance

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) ensures that consumers are protected; the insurance marketplace is fostered to be vibrant and stable; the regulatory process is maintained as open and equitable; and the law is enforced fairly and impartially. The Fraud Division is charged with investigating insurance fraud, which includes the crimes of intentional misrepresentation of payroll and employee staffing in order to obtain lower rates for workers’ compensation insurance. Studies suggests that the aggressive anti-fraud campaign by the CDI, the district attorneys, the insurance industry, and California employers continues to play a substantial role in reducing crime and helps lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums for employers statewide.

Franchise Tax Board

The Franchise Tax Board’s (FTB) primary function is to administer the Revenue and Taxation Code. Elected officials determine the tax policy for raising revenue. Under the direction of the FTB’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) enforces the criminal provisions of the Revenue and Taxation Code. The CIB’s principal mission is to identify, investigate, prosecute and deter tax evasion and fraud, and encourage compliance with California income tax laws while maintaining the public’s trust through publicity. The CIB takes over where voluntary compliance and civil enforcement efforts end. Special agents with full peace officer powers investigate alleged criminal violations of the Revenue and Taxation Code, principally income tax fraud and evasion, and assist in prosecuting non-compliant individuals. The special agents work cases independently (agency only) and partner with city, county, State and federal agencies (jointly) when other charges exist. The special agents’ efforts are supported by forensic auditors, collectors, analysts and support staff; basically a micro-organization all in one bureau. The CIB also relies on a strong collaborative enterprise to accomplish their mission.

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) administers tax programs in four general areas: sales and use taxes, property taxes, special taxes and fees, and the tax appellate program. The Investigation Division and Special Operations Bureau plans, organizes, directs, and oversees all criminal investigative activities for the various programs administered by the CDTFA. Its goals are to identify tax evasion and new fraud schemes, and actively investigate and assist in the prosecution of individuals who are violating the laws administered by the CDTFA.

Department of Justice

The Department of Justice Attorney General works to protect California’s workers, legitimate businesses, and taxpayers through the Underground Economy Unit. The Underground Economy Unit brings civil and criminal actions against persons engaged in the underground economy. It has used California’s laws to obtain restitution of unpaid wages, civil penalties, and injunctions to bring businesses into compliance with applicable labor and employment, tax, and licensing laws. These enforcement efforts deter underground economy violations, recapture lost revenues, and protect workers and legitimate businesses from illegal and predatory enterprises. The Underground Economy Unit has prosecuted cases involving: wage, tax, and insurance issues including the theft of wages, unpaid overtime, denial of breaks, payroll tax evasion, and misclassification of employees as independent contractors; patterns of safety violations leading to fatal workplace injuries; workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud; and the illegal avoidance of workers’ compensation coverage for employees.

United States Department of Labor

The United States Department of Labor’s mission is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights. The Fair Labor Standards Act prescribes standards for wages and overtime pay, which affect most private and public employment. The act is administered by the Wage and Hour Division. It requires employers to pay covered employees, who are not otherwise exempt, at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay of one and one-half-times the regular rate of pay. For nonagricultural operations, it restricts the hours that children under age 16 can work and forbids the employment of children under age 18 in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. For agricultural operations, it prohibits the employment of children under age 16 during school hours and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. The Wage and Hour Division also enforces the labor standards provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that apply to aliens authorized to work in the United States under certain nonimmigrant visa programs (H-1B, H-1B1, H-1C, H-2A).

California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s agents are peace officers under Section 830.2 of the California Penal Code and are empowered to investigate and make arrests for violations of the Business and Professions Code that occur on or about licensed premises. Agents are further empowered to enforce any penal provisions of the law in the state. Licensees who violate state laws or local ordinances are subject to disciplinary action and may have their licenses suspended or revoked. These licensees are entitled to a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge and an appellate process to the State Supreme Court.

Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) mission is to provide America’s taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.

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EDD Fraud Convictions - USAO - California, Central


One-Time EDD Employee Agrees to Plead Guilty for Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $1.6 Million in COVID-Related Jobless Benefits

EDD Fraud Convictions

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Central District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 8, 2021

One-Time EDD Employee Agrees to Plead Guilty for Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $1.6 Million in COVID-Related Jobless Benefits

          LOS ANGELES – A former California Employment Development Department (EDD) employee has agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge for causing nearly 200 fraudulent COVID-related unemployment relief claims to be filed in other people’s names, resulting in more than $1.6 million in ill-gotten gains, the Justice Department announced today.

          Gabriela Llerenas, a.k.a. “Maria G. Sandoval,” 49, of Perris, signed a plea agreement that was filed today in which she has agreed to plead guilty to a single-count information charging her with mail fraud.

          Court records show that Llerenas previously worked at EDD as a disability insurance program representative. She resigned in March 2002 after admitting to fraudulently authorizing and paying disability benefits administered by EDD. She was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison in connection with that scheme.

          The new scheme that Llerenas has admitted running took advantage of the expanded eligibility for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress and signed into law in March 2020. The CARES Act provided additional UI benefits to qualified individuals and helped provide UI benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic to people who did not otherwise qualify, including business owners, self-employed workers, independent contractors, and those with a limited work history.

          From April to October 2020, Llerenas filed and caused the filing with EDD of fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits that falsely asserted the named claimants were self-employed independent contractors – often identifying them as cake decorators or event attendants – who were negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Llerenas obtained some of the names, Social Security numbers and other identifying information she used to submit the fraudulent claims through her prior work as a tax preparer.

          In her plea agreement, Llerenas also admitted to falsely stating on some of the applications that the claimants were residents of California entitled to unemployment insurance benefits administered by EDD when in fact they lived elsewhere. She also admitted that, on some applications, she inflated the amounts of income she reported for the claimant to maximize the benefit amount. She also admitted to sometimes filing a dozen or more fraudulent EDD claims in a day.

          As a result of the fraudulent unemployment benefits applications that Llerenas filed and caused to be filed, EDD authorized Bank of America to mail debit cards in the names of the claimants to addresses she provided, including her residence, her husband’s business location, her mother’s apartment and the addresses of friends and other family members.

          Llerenas admitted that she charged the named claimants a fee for filling the applications, which was often paid out of the fraudulently obtained benefits. In at least one case, she told the named claimant that she was still employed at EDD and could control the distribution of the unemployment insurance benefits, and then demanded an additional payment for “releasing” the benefits.

          In total, 197 debit cards were fraudulently issued because of this scheme, resulting in losses to EDD and the United States Treasury that Llerenas has admitted were at least $1,633,487.

          Llerenas is scheduled to make her initial appearance on September 22. The criminal offense to which Llerenas has agreed to plead guilty carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          The Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General, EDD-Investigations Division, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General investigated this matter.

          Assistant United States Attorney Ranee A. Katzenstein, Chief of the Major Frauds Section, is prosecuting this case.

          On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.

          The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

          Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Topic(s): 
Coronavirus
Component(s): 
Contact: 
Ciaran McEvoy Public Information Officer United States Attorney’s Office Central District of California (Los Angeles) ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov (213) 894-4465
Press Release Number: 
21-181
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