By Tim Stelloh - NBC News
Tens of thousands of prisoners and inmates, including convicted serial killers like Scott Peterson, committed possibly the largest fraud in California history, prosecutors described Tuesday.
The alleged crimes related to unemployment benefits from the coronavirus pandemic could total as much as $ 1 billion, said Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert.
"Honestly, the fraud is amazing," he
said.
Between March and August inmates in all California prisons and prisons across the state filed
35,000 claims totaling $ 140 million in benefits
, according to Schubert.
[Congress faces pressure to pass more direct coronavirus aid checks before the end of the year]
Sometimes those benefits were paid directly to inmates within the facility.
In other cases, the money was sent to family and friends.
In Kern County, District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer explained that investigators were alerted to the alleged scam in September,
after the arrival of numerous money orders intended for inmates.
Sometimes benefits included fake Social Security numbers and names like John Doe, John Adams or, in one case,
"shit pants
,
"
according to Schubert.
[Resources to find help against the economic crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic]
"Frankly, the prisoners are making fun of us," he declared.
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In other cases, the claims were made with real names.
Among them, 133 of the 700 death row inmates in the state, including convicted felons like Cary Stayner, who murdered four people near Yosemite National Park in 1999, Susan Eubanks, who murdered her four children in 1996, and Peterson, who killed his pregnant wife in 2002.
Earlier this year, Peterson's capital punishment was overturned after the state superior court ruled that there had been
"significant errors" during jury selection at his trial
.
Prosecutors have said he will lose the death penalty again in the case.
[Biden and Harris on the severity of the economic crisis: "We don't have a moment to lose"]
Prosecutor Schurbert's office is aware of the amount that Peterson allegedly defrauded with his unemployment claims, although they declined to give the figure, claiming that the investigation is ongoing.
Peterson's attorney Pat Harris told the AP that investigators will reveal "that he had nothing to do with any kind of scheme to obtain fraudulent benefits."
Schubert noted that those sentenced to death had received
claims totaling $ 420,000
.
Unlike 35 other states, California lacks a system that “matches” data between prisons and jails and jobless claims.
He said the embezzlement could be carried out because, the Sacramento County district attorney explained.
In a statement, Loree Levy, deputy director of the state's Department of Economic Development, said she was "looking at how to integrate such matches to prevent fraud during this unprecedented stage of nationwide unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic."
In a statement to NBC Los Angeles, California Governor Gavin Newsom called the fraud
"absolutely unacceptable"
and said he had directed emergency services officials to assemble a task force to help address the problem.
With information from NBC Los Angeles.
