FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A California prisoner is one of two people accused of stealing more than $100,000 in unemployment benefits.
It's the latest allegation related to what authorities say is a multibillion-dollar fraud aided by lax safeguards at a state agency.
Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that an inmate at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla named Alana Powers was indicted by a federal grand jury, along with Jason Vertz of Fresno.
They say neither has yet listed a defense attorney. State officials say the state has paid at least $11 billion to people whose identities it has been unable to verify, with $810 million paid in the names of ineligible prisoners.
