Authorities Say Fake Claims Used Names of Prisoners and Out-of-State Residents
Selena Stewart was arrested and arraigned Wednesday on a 14-count indictment issued by a federal grand jury. She entered a plea of not guilty to charges that include 10 counts of mail fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of unauthorized use of access devices, and one count of possession of at least 15 unauthorized access devices. A trial has been set for August 26 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Stewart was released on $10,000 bond.
According to the indictment, Stewart conspired with co-defendants Toby Brazier, 48, of Los Angeles, and Tony Queen, 67, of Culver City, to submit more than 100 fraudulent applications to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) between March and December 2020. The trio allegedly used stolen personal information—some of it belonging to individuals incarcerated in California state prisons—to file for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits made available under expanded federal programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fraudulent applications falsely claimed the named individuals were California residents and self-employed workers whose income was adversely impacted by the pandemic. Investigators say the majority of those identities belonged to people who neither lived nor worked in California.
Once the false claims were approved, EDD, in coordination with Bank of America, issued debit cards loaded with UI benefits. Prosecutors allege Stewart and her co-defendants used these cards to withdraw cash at ATMs, make purchases, and siphon off government funds. The scheme resulted in an estimated loss of over $1.3 million to EDD and the U.S. Treasury.
Brazier and Queen have also been charged with 10 counts of mail fraud. Queen is scheduled to appear in court next week, while Brazier remains a fugitive, authorities said.
If convicted on all counts, Stewart faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each mail fraud charge, 10 years for the unauthorized access device offense, a mandatory two-year sentence for each count of aggravated identity theft, and an additional 10 years for possession of unauthorized access devices.
The investigation is being led by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and EDD’s Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clifford Mpare and Christina Lopez are handling the prosecution.
Members of the public are encouraged to report suspected pandemic-related fraud to the DOJ’s National Center for Disaster Fraud by calling 866-720-5721 or submitting a tip at justice.gov/disaster-fraud.
