Regina Brice, a former employee of the California Employment Development Department (EDD), has been sentenced to 66 months in prison for committing mail fraud in a bribery scheme that resulted in filing fraudulent unemployment claims worth $858,339. The sentencing was delivered by a federal court in San Diego.
Brice had been with the EDD since 2010 and handled processing COVID-related unemployment claims during the pandemic. Between July 2020 and May 2021, she manipulated claims for co-conspirators, including California prison inmates, in exchange for money. "This defendant turned her back on the oath of her office and those she was supposed to help during a once-in-a-century pandemic," stated Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden. "Today she is being held accountable for her greed."
Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), remarked that Brice “filed fraudulent and manipulated unemployment insurance (UI) claims in exchange for kickbacks.” Heiden emphasized the importance of safeguarding the integrity of UI programs for the unemployed workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and reiterated the commitment to combating waste, fraud, and abuse in DOL programs.
Joseph V. Cuffari from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General’s office highlighted their focus on prioritizing fraud investigations related to the pandemic. Cuffari recognized the collaboration with the Department of Labor OIG in closing the case, stressing the investigation's role in bringing perpetrators to justice.
The case's importance was also emphasized by Matt Shields from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Shields noted the misconduct involving fraudulent gains of nearly a million dollars and the EDD employee's role in betraying public trust. He applauded the teamwork of various agencies in ensuring severe consequences for such misconduct.
The prosecution of the case is led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Sou. Anyone with insights into attempted COVID-19 fraud can report it via the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud.
