Former Washington State Employment Security Department worker sentenced to five years in prison for wire fraud, bribery, and aggravated identity theft

Tacoma – A former worker of Washington State’s Employment Safety Division (ESD) was sentenced right now in U.S. District Court docket in Tacoma to 5 years in jail for 3 federal felonies for his scheme to take advantage of his employment for private enrichment and to fraudulently distribute no less than $360,000 in pandemic-related unemployment advantages, introduced U.S. Legal professional Nick Brown.  Reyes De La Cruz, III, 48, of Moses Lake, Washington, personally enriched himself by no less than $130,000 along with his scheme.   On the sentencing listening to U.S. District Decide Robert J. Bryan mentioned, “This was a critical offense…damaging to our system of presidency and to people.”

“Mr. De La Cruz’s betrayal of public belief is especially egregious, since he was employed to assist folks survive throughout a time of nationwide disaster,” mentioned U.S. Legal professional Nick Brown. “As an alternative, by means of a number of acts of demanding bribes, falsifying data, stealing identities – he stole from the general public to line his personal pockets. The Division of Justice is working relentlessly to fight pandemic fraud, and to carry individuals who defrauded the federal government accountable.”

“Public servants should be held to larger customary.” mentioned Richard A. Collodi, Particular Agent in Cost of the FBI’s Seattle area workplace. “Mr. De La Cruz took benefit of a program meant to help struggling households through the pandemic.  He exploited his place to learn himself, which makes his actions that rather more appalling.  This case demonstrates the dedication by the FBI and U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace to bolster belief and maintain accountable those that manipulate for private achieve.”

Based on data filed within the case, De La Cruz was employed as an consumption agent in April 2020 to assist the Employment Safety Division (ESD) take care of the crush of filings for pandemic unemployment advantages.  De La Cruz had beforehand labored for ESD, from 1996 to 2003.

Between July 3, 2020, and March 15, 2021, De La Cruz used his entry to the ESD claims database to defraud the advantages system in a number of methods. In no less than ten situations, De La Cruz accepted bribes in alternate for engineering profit funds for his mates, household, or acquaintances by making false entries within the claims database.   In lots of instances, the particular person didn’t qualify for advantages, however De La Cruz manipulated the claims database in order that the claimants obtained lumpsum retroactive funds that generally amounted to tens of 1000’s of {dollars}.  The claimants would then pay De La Cruz a portion of the lumpsum.  The bribes ranged from $500-$6,500. In whole, De La Cruz enriched himself almost $21,000 by means of kickback funds. 

In some situations, when claimants refused or resisted paying De La Cruz, he threatened to terminate the declare if they didn’t pay him. 

De La Cruz filed no less than 4 claims utilizing different folks’s private info with out authorization after which had the advantages paid to debit playing cards that had been mailed to Moses Lake, Washington, addresses the place De La Cruz might retrieve them.  Even after his employment with ESD terminated on October 1, 2020, De La Cruz tried to restart claims funds to those debit playing cards to reap the benefits of further federal pandemic advantages.  De La Cruz went as far as to impersonate a claimant in recorded cellphone calls with ESD and a financial institution.  He impersonated one other claimant in handwritten correspondence that he then faxed to ESD.  On this approach he defrauded ESD of greater than $113,000. 

The Employment Safety Division uncovered proof of fraud, terminated De La Cruz, and referred the case to the Division of Labor Workplace of Inspector Basic.  The FBI joined the investigation.

“Reyes De La Cruz was a state worker who was trusted to deal with delicate employment info. He abused that belief for private achieve. This sentencing sends a powerful message to those that defrauded our nation’s unemployment system throughout a time when unemployment advantages had been wanted most. Defending the integrity of the unemployment insurance coverage program stays certainly one of our highest priorities. We’ll proceed to work with our legislation enforcement companions to safeguard unemployment advantages for individuals who want them and to deliver to justice those that commit unemployment insurance coverage fraud”, mentioned Quentin Heiden, Particular Agent-in-Cost of the U.S. Division of Labor, Workplace of Inspector Basic, Los Angeles Area.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cindy Chang and Seth Wilkinson.

On Might 17, 2021, the Legal professional Basic established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Job Power to marshal the sources of the Division of Justice in partnership with businesses throughout authorities to boost efforts to fight and stop pandemic-related fraud.  The Job Power bolsters efforts to analyze and prosecute essentially the most culpable home and worldwide felony actors and assists businesses tasked with administering aid applications to forestall fraud by, amongst different strategies, augmenting and incorporating present coordination mechanisms, figuring out sources and methods to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing info and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.  For extra info on the Division’s response to the pandemic, please go to https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anybody with details about allegations of tried fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Division of Justice’s Nationwide Heart for Catastrophe Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or by way of the NCDF Internet Criticism Type at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.