They also found 17 unemployment benefit debit cards loaded with tens of thousands of more dollars in various names. That Maserati was purchased with some of the unemployment insurance benefits the 30-year-old Pasadena man fraudulently obtained by using stolen identities, the indictment alleges. Bank of America, which handles the cards, has warned that fraud in California’s unemployment benefits system could total $2 billion. According to the investigator’s affidavit, Mateer admitted to obtaining the unemployment benefits debit cards by using “thousands” of identity profiles in his possession. Mateer allegedly withdrew about $13,840 from the EDD debit cards in his possession in September, according to the affidavit.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 11, 2020 23:33 UTC