(KRON) – An elaborate fraudulent unemployment insurance scam landed two Oakland residents with prison sentences, according to the Department of Justice. One of the defendants was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison on Monday.
The DOJ said Oakland residents Kari Marie Russo and her co-defendant Steven Dunsmore submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to California’s Employment Development Department with other people’s identifying information, including their names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, without their authorization in June of 2020.
The duo received $336,545 in EDD funds as a result of the scheme. In October of 2023, Russo, 46, and her co-defendant Dunsmore, 35, were indicted by a federal grand jury. The following February, Dunsmore pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent use of an unauthorized access device and two counts of aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 24 months and one day in federal prison and ordered to pay $336,545 in restitution. Russo, according to the DOJ, left a drug treatment program without permission during her pre-trial and failed to appear in court on Jan. 8, 2024. In June of that year, she was captured by the U.S. Marshals Service and was indicted three months later for missing her court date.
Russo pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent use of an unauthorized access device, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of failure to appear in December of 2024.
U.S. District Judge James Donato sentenced Russo to 33 months in federal prison and to pay $336,545 in restitution, jointly and severally with Dunsmore.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Unemployment insurance scam lands two Oakland residents behind bars: DOJ )
Also on site :
- Anger as US blocks Gaza ceasefire resolution at UN Security Council
- Trump revives travel ban, barring entry from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan, Yemen and 7 other countries
- Mariners, Daniel Bard Agree To Minor League Contract