Six Louisianans have been arrested by the Attorney General’s Office for allegedly defrauding California out of a million dollars in unemployment benefits.
Louisiana Bureau of Investigations Special Agent Ernest Green said the scheme was based around filing fraudulent online claims with the nation’s largest state during the early days of the pandemic.
“They represented that they were either residents of California or had earned wages in California and were able to manipulate that system,” said Green.
Green said the six suspects were stealing money and wasting precious resources at a time when people needed them most early in the pandemic.
“We had folks who were really, legitimately out of work and having a hard time and the system was clogged by fraudulent claims committed by individuals such as these,” said Green who mentioned they were caught in part because they were brazen enough to put their own names on their fraudulent applications.
The group did defraud the Louisiana unemployment system out of some money, but Green said it appears they viewed the Golden State as a better target.
“It seems that, in this instance, they felt that California was an easy mark,” said Green.
The six arrested were 26-year-old Dynasty Rowe of Maringouin, 42-year-old Kendell Fowler of Baton Rouge, 28-year-old Miquel Banks of Plaquemine, 20-year-old Lasia Brock of Thibodaux, 32-year-old Ashley Johnson of Prairieville, and 29-year-old Darrolyn Bell of Plaquemine.
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