Chowchilla inmate convicted in COVID unemployment benefits scheme, stole thousands from EDD
An inmate at the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla is facing 20 years in prison for her role in an unemployment fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
Sholanda Thomas, 38, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges, according to a department news release.
The scheme is estimated to have hit the California Employment Development Department (EDD) with a loss of at least $250,000.
Court documents show that while she was incarcerated, Thomas submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in her own name and those of other inmates to the EDD.
Thomas sent her own and other inmates’ personal identifying information to a woman named Christina Smith to submit the fraudulent claims, according to the release. Smith was on parole at the time and had previously been an inmate at CCWF.
The false applications claimed that the inmates were working as carpet cleaners, hair stylists, mechanics and various other jobs during the time they were incarcerated.
Thomas split the proceeds with Smith and the other inmates, according to the release.
This case was investigated by the FBI, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Investigative Services Unit,and the EDD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton is prosecuting the case.
Smith pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in federal prison in September 2021.
Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on Sept. 12.
She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge.
For the aggravated identity theft charge, Thomas also faces a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to any other sentence and a $250,000 fine.
The actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after considering applicable statutory factors and Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the release said.
