LOS ANGELES A San Dimas man pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge that he fraudulently obtained more than $500,000 in COVID-19-related unemployment benefits in the names of foreign nationals he falsely claimed were local real estate agents hit hard financially by the pandemic.
Bonifacio Jastilana Marinas pleaded guilty to a single-count criminal information charging him with mail fraud.
According to his plea agreement, from April 2020 to August 2020, Marinas took advantage of provisions in the CARES Act to file approximately 85 unemployment insurance claims with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) that falsely asserted that the named claimants were self-employed real estate agents in Los Angeles County whose jobs had been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Marinas often listed his own real estate business – Vintage Realty & Finance Inc., located in West Covina – as the purported workplace of the named claimants.
By Lexi Lonas - 02/05/21 10:36 AM EST
States mailing out forms for the approaching tax-filing season are seeing a significant number of reports of unemployment fraud, according to a report by The Associated Press.
States were flooded with unemployment filings during the coronavirus pandemic as businesses shuttered for extensive periods of time. This ended up overwhelming unemployment offices, which saw a surge in claims as the unemployment rate raced up from historic lows.
People who receive unemployment still must pay taxes and are now receiving their 1099-G forms this tax season.
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But the AP noted that many people who never filed for unemployment also are receiving these tax forms.
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