Rachel C. Hernandez Acting United States Attorney for the District of Arizona | U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona
Ronnie Lamar Strawberry, Jr., a 39-year-old resident of Los Angeles, California, was sentenced to 33 months in prison by Senior United States District Judge G. Murray Snow on May 19, 2025. He was also ordered to pay $528,426 in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His sister, Raychelle Strawberry, received a sentence of 60 months of probation for her involvement in the same offense.
Court documents revealed that Ronnie Strawberry conspired with his sister and others to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. The scheme involved using stolen identities to submit false claims in both California and Arizona. Personal identifiable information from over 25 individuals was used to file these online applications.
U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine commented on the case stating, "The defendant exploited a national crisis for personal gain. He stole nearly $500,000 in pandemic relief funds that were meant to support struggling families and small businesses." Courchaine emphasized the ongoing commitment of his office to investigate and prosecute those who misappropriated state and federal funds during the pandemic.
Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Western Region for the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General (OIG), remarked on their mission: "An important part of the mission...is to investigate allegations of fraud involving unemployment insurance (UI) programs." Heiden affirmed their continued collaboration with law enforcement partners to maintain the integrity of the nation's Unemployment Insurance system.
The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies including the U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Arizona Department of Economic Security OIG, and Homeland Security OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. Rapp from the District of Arizona led the prosecution.
