A former Amtrak employee has been sentenced to 25 months in federal prison for conspiring with her husband to steal nearly $1 million in COVID-19 unemployment insurance benefits and fraudulently obtaining more than $63,000 in sickness benefits. Lizette Berrios Lathon, 48, from Moreno Valley, received the sentence from United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin and was ordered to pay $1,061,667 in restitution.
In November 2022, Lizette Lathon pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and wire fraud. Her husband, Kenneth Andrew Lathon, also of Moreno Valley, had previously been sentenced in July 2024 to 54 months in prison with a restitution order of $998,630.
From 2014 until September 2022, Lizette Lathon ran tax preparation businesses under different names while working as a service attendant at Amtrak. The couple exploited expanded eligibility for unemployment benefits during the pandemic through fraudulent applications using stolen identities from her clients.
The scheme involved filing false claims with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) resulting in debit cards issued under false pretenses. These cards were then used by the couple for personal gain. This activity resulted in losses of approximately $998,630.
Lizette Lathon also engaged in a separate scheme defrauding the Railroad Retirement Board out of sickness benefit payments by submitting falsified medical claims between September 2014 and January 2020.
Kenneth Lathon illegally possessed firearms despite prior felony convictions for theft and drug offenses.
The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies including the Amtrak Office of Inspector General and others. Assistant United States Attorney Cory L. Burleson prosecuted these cases.
For information on reporting attempted COVID-19 related frauds contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or use their online complaint form.
