Five people, including a California Highway Patrol dispatcher, were arrested for allegedly stealing $3.3 million in federal unemployment benefits.
The suspects were identified by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as:
- Janet Clarise Gloria Theus, 44, of Lancaster
- Diane Clarise Theus, 78, of Lancaster, (Janet’s mother)
- Dailen Spears, 24, of Carson
- Erica Abson Robins, 57, of Compton, a CHP dispatcher
- Ronald Lee Robins, 62, of Compton (Erica’s husband, who was serving a state prison sentence for first-degree burglary during the alleged scheme)
From April 2020 to July 2022, the group is accused of collecting personal information, such as names and Social Security numbers, from unsuspecting victims to fraudulently claim unemployment benefits during the COVID era.
The suspects allegedly submitted fake COVID unemployment assistance applications, claiming they had lost jobs due to the pandemic. Once the money was received, they withdrew the funds from ATMs using accounts they created for the scheme, prosecutors said.
Through this method, they submitted around 293 applications for unemployment benefits and collected around $3.3 million,
Around 169 applications were filed for children under the age of 18, according to court documents. Around 106 of those were for children under 10 years old. At least 17 applications were for people who were actually incarcerated prisoners.
Erica Robins is accused of using her position as a CHP dispatcher to access a law enforcement database containing Social Security numbers and birthdates of an inmate at a San Luis Obispo prison which was later used to obtain job-loss benefits.
At the time, Erica’s husband, Ronald Robins, was an inmate at that same prison. While incarcerated, Robins allegedly collected Social Security numbers and birthdates from other inmates, which Janet Theus and Diane Theus later used to withdraw COVID-related cash benefits, officials said.
On March 6, prosecutors announced all five suspects were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Additionally, Janet was charged with four counts of bank fraud. Diane and Erica were each charged with two counts of bank fraud. Janet, Diane, Erica and Ronald were also charged with one count of unlawful use of unauthorized access devices.
Erica and Ronald were arrested on Wednesday. Dailen Spears surrendered on the same day. On Thursday, Janet and Diane surrendered to authorities.
A trial date is scheduled for April 29. Erica and Spears were released on a $10,000 bond. A detention hearing was scheduled for March 11 for Ronald who remains in federal custody.
If convicted of all charges, they could face up to 30 years in prison for each bank fraud-related count. Janet, Diane, Erica and Ronald could also face up to 10 years in prison for the unlawful use of unauthorized access devices.
Anyone with information about COVID-related fraud can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or online through the NCDF Web Complaint Form.