Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Three people were arrested in connection with a scheme to defraud the California Employment Development Department (EDD) of unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
Yolanda Butler, 49, was taken into custody in Oklahoma. Her son, Legerrius Holt, 28, was arrested in Colorado. Both are formerly from Stockton, California. The third defendant, Quamaine Massey, 33, formerly of North Carolina, was apprehended in Ohio. A federal grand jury indicted the three on August 7, 2025. They face charges of mail fraud; Butler and Holt also face charges of aggravated identity theft.
Court documents state that between April 2020 and June 2021, the defendants executed a mail fraud and identity theft operation targeting the Unemployment Insurance benefit program administered by EDD. During this period, programs such as the CARES Act and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance provided unemployment insurance benefits for residents affected by job loss due to COVID-19.
The indictment alleges that the defendants used personally identifiable information belonging to dozens of individuals to file at least 69 fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance benefits. EDD reportedly approved many applications and sent prepaid debit cards loaded with benefits to addresses controlled by the defendants—including numerous cards mailed to Butler and Holt’s address in Stockton and several to Massey’s residence in North Carolina.
Once they received these debit cards, prosecutors allege that the defendants activated them and used the funds for personal expenses. The total amount paid out exceeded $1.1 million with an intended loss over $1.4 million.
Multiple agencies contributed to investigating this case: U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General; Federal Bureau of Investigation; California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General; and California EDD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow is prosecuting.
If found guilty, each defendant could receive up to 20 years in prison for mail fraud charges; Butler and Holt also face a mandatory additional two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft as well as fines up to $250,000 per count. Sentencing would be determined by the court considering statutory factors and federal guidelines.
All charges are allegations at this stage; “the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
This prosecution is part of a broader effort under the California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation—one of five strike force teams established nationwide by the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at combating large-scale pandemic relief fraud using combined law enforcement resources across multiple districts.
