CALIFORNIA – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a California ex-Amtrak worker was sentenced, July 17, to 25 months for stealing nearly $1 million in COVID jobless aid and $63,000 in sickness benefits.
Lizette Berrios Lathon, 48, of Moreno Valley was sentenced and ordered to pay $1.06 million in restitution.
From 2014 to at least September 2022, Lathon worked as an Amtrak service attendant and ran three tax prep businesses – Miracle Tax Service in Los Angeles, and Hardcore Taxes and LL Taxes in Moreno Valley.
Lathon and husband Kenneth Lathon exploited expanded COVID-era unemployment benefits under the 2020 Cares Act. The act extended aid to workers typically ineligible, including the self-employed and independent contractors.
Lathon submitted fake UI claims using personal info from former clients
In some instances, Lathon submitted fake UI claims to California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) using personal info from former tax clients without consent.
She inflated incomes to secure maximum benefits – often for people who never lived in the state.
EDD issued debit cards in former clients’ names, but Lathon had them sent to her family’s addresses. She and her husband used them for ATM withdrawals and retail purchases.
Between spring 2020 and March 2021, Lathon and her husband filed at least 44 fraudulent unemployment claims, causing about $998,630 in losses.
Fraudulently obtained $63,047 in sickness benefits
Lathon, an Amtrak employee from 2000 to 2021, also fraudulently obtained about $63,047 in sickness benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board by filing false medical claims from 2014 to 2020.
Kenneth Lathon also illegally possessed a rifle and shotgun despite prior felony convictions for theft, drug possession and fraud.
Defendants must pleaded guilty to conspiracy, identity theft, and wire fraud
In November 2022, Lathon pleaded guilty to conspiracy, identity theft, and wire fraud.
In July 2024, Kenneth Lathon was sentenced to 54 months in prison and ordered to pay $998,630 in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy, identity theft and illegal firearm possession.
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