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StumbleMan pleads guilty to using undocumented immigrants to get $4.4 million in unemployment benefits
Monday, Oct. 31, 2011 | 3:32 p.m.
A man charged with using undocumented immigrants to fraudulently obtain more than $4.4 million in unemployment benefits pleaded guilty Monday, Nevada’s U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden announced.
Francisco Garcia, 41, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering and false representation of a Social Security number, officials said.
Garcia must forfeit $4,401,548 in cash and five houses in Las Vegas, which were proceeds from the crimes, officials said.
According to the plea agreement, Garcia and three codefendants fraudulently submitted at least 591 unemployment claims to the state. As a result, the state paid unemployment insurance benefits, emergency unemployment compensation benefits, federal additional compensation benefits and state extended benefits, which exceeded $4.4 million, authorities said.
The defendants committed the fraud by recruiting people illegally in the United States to apply for unemployment benefits and obtained their personal identifying information and work history, officials said.
From there, the defendants submitted fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits through the state’s telephone hotline number and website, officials said. They produced false notarized affidavits of identity, if the state had questions about the person’s identify, officials said.
The defendants either told the undocumented immigrants that their claims were not accepted or gave them a portion of the benefits before telling them the claims were no longer being paid, officials said. Meanwhile, the defendants continued accepting the payments.
Officials expect the other defendants to enter guilty pleas Wednesday and Thursday.
Garcia, who faces up to 35 years in prison and $750,000 in fines, will be sentenced Feb. 3, 2012.
Discussion: 3 comments so far…
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Trust but verify.
Is Francisco Garcia a legally documented person, or better yet is he an American citizen? It is surpising a crime with so many people involved there is only Francisco Garcia making a plead.
35 years. No parole. 35 years. He will be 76. Crimes like this must be delt with harshly. Pretty brazen.
How many fraudulent cases just like this one are out there that have not been discovered. I bet there are 100's and 100's.
Unbelievable. Don't they take a picture or physically ID a person who applies for unemployment benefits? Don't they check the company that laid them off?
How do undocumented immigrants get unemployment when they haven't been unemployed? After handling unemployment cases for over 70 years, this happens?
Another super failure of Government to take care of the interests of the majority. Blatant incompetence.
You can bet Garcia was a slumlord who bought homes to rent to illegals. They pack them in like sardines so they can send more money back to their families.
How this fraud was not spotted is a real mystery. New protocols are most likely being written in Carson City. NV ESD issues benefits based on wages the employer reports every quarter. If no wages are posted, then no unemployment benefits are paid. The claimant can appeal the denial but they better have documentation. Most illegals do not appeal.
No photos are taken, that would make sense. Wages for as many as 100 people can be posted to one Social Security number, or so it was a few years ago. Calling Soc Sec with fraud evidence is a waste of time. They do not have the personnel to handle it.
No different than the ilegals on food stamps and section 8.
Sandoval needs to do his job.
It's crazy. My wife has been on an "on call" basis for 2 years. When she first applied for benefits, she went through an extensive battery of questions and had to prove her eligibility. When reapplying after getting as little as 2 work days in a sigle week, she has to do it all over again. Yet these illegals get over $4 million and nobody is the wiser? What's it take to cheat? To have a foreign surname?
typical government, just like the IRS sending billions in tax refunds to people in prison and filing e-returns using stolen SS numbers.
No questions, no verification, just "oh, somebody filed, they must be owed money, write the check.
Medicare/medicaid fraud is perpetrated the same way, no questions from the government, just pay the claim. And the same for FEMA, hand out money now, ask questions later (maybe). Freakin morons in government at all levels.
I would bet on an inside man to pull off this caper. I would say 1 or 2 lawyers also helped. When Republicans talk about fraud and waste here is a good example. These crooks need to go to prison and shine OJ's shoes. What a bunch of crooks!
Yes Jerry Fink, because to question someone with a foreign surname will get you labeled as a racist and incur the wrath of the ACLU. In 2011 it is much easier and much more PC to instead harass those of us who are actually from here.