A Riverside County woman was sentenced to federal prison for stealing over $1.1 million in unemployment benefits.
Catrina Gipson, 47, from Moreno Valley, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison and was ordered to pay $1,106,282 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Gipson was found guilty of organizing and leading “an extensive conspiracy that defrauded California’s unemployment insurance benefits program out of more than $1.1 million,” authorities said.
Gipson was arrested along with seven other suspects back in July 2020:
-Donna Givens, 58, of Gramercy Park
-Evelyn Taylor, 36, of Gramercy Park
-Laron Taylor, 34, of Buena Park
-Latrice Taylor, 37, of Buena Park
-Raschell Taylor, 30, of San Bernardino
-Bianka Logie, 45, of Moreno Valley
-Vernisha Jolivet, 27, of Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials say Gipson and her accomplices used a variety of names and fake businesses registered with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) to claim payouts from February 2013 to July 2016.
Along with using their own names to file claims, the suspects also used the names of fake cleaning businesses and boutique stores as well as stolen names including those of prison inmates, court documents said.
After the EDD issued the debit cards, Gipson and her co-conspirators withdrew the funds, eventually amassing around $1,106,282 in unemployment insurance benefits.
Gipson pleaded guilty in June 2022 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Vernisha Jolivet, 30, of Indianapolis, pleaded guilty in February 2022 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to six months in federal prison.
The six other defendants are scheduled to go on trial on May 2.