A Houston woman has been sentenced for her role in a wire fraud conspiracy involving fraudulent debit card funds, as announced by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Jaysha Victorian, 23, pleaded guilty on April 3 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
During the hearing, it was revealed that Victorian participated in a scheme to steal unemployment funds supplemented during the pandemic. She committed millions of dollars in fraud over a few weeks while working for a bank contractor from late 2020 to early 2021. Victorian used her access to load prepaid debit cards with fraudulent funds, including unemployment benefits intended for California residents. She credited at least 187 cards with nearly $8.6 million, with recipients withdrawing or spending over $7.6 million before the bank froze the accounts.
Victorian admitted to using some of the funds herself, including making a $1,000 ATM withdrawal in Houston and receiving approximately $300,000 in cash proceeds from her involvement in the scheme.
She is allowed to remain on bond and will voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility yet to be determined.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Houston Police Department, Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General’s Covid Fraud Unit and Department of Labor. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brad Gray and Karen Lansden prosecuted the case.
