FOX5 Vegas - KVVU4 Vegas men sentenced for unemployment scam involving illegals

4 Vegas men sentenced for unemployment scam involving illegals

Four Las Vegas men have been sentenced to federal prison for an unemployment scam involving illegal immigrants.

According to Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada, from about Nov. 2007 until Sept. 2009, the men fraudulently submitted at least 591 unemployment claims to the State of Nevada, causing it to pay out nearly $4.4 million.

The defendants recruited undocumented persons to apply for unemployment benefits. When the State sent affidavits to establish identity, the defendants would submit a false notarized affidavit of identity.

Those sentenced are:

• Francisco Garcia, 41, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering, and false representation of a social security number.
• Nabor Garcia, 33, was sentenced on Thursday to two years in prison for his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering.
• Eloy Garcia, 33, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 months in prison for his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering, and making a false declaration in relation to a bankruptcy proceeding.
• Efrain Garcia, 41, was sentenced on Wednesday to two years in prison for his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering.

"The extent of this fraud was staggering considering that the defendants obtained over $4 million illegally in amounts less than $1,000," said U.S. Attorney Bogden. "My thanks to our law enforcement team for putting a stop to this fraudulent activity."

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.

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