Former Amtrak Employee Sentenced to 25 Months in Federal Prison for COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud

Lizette Berrios Lathon, a 48-year-old former Amtrak employee from Moreno Valley, California, was sentenced to 25 months in federal prison for conspiring with her husband to steal nearly $1 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits. Lathon also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of wire fraud.

Key Takeaways:

• Lizette Lathon and her husband, Kenneth Andrew Lathon, stole nearly $1 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits through a scheme that lasted from the spring of 2020 to March 2021.
• The couple caused at least 44 fraudulent unemployment claims to be filed, resulting in losses to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) and the United States Treasury of approximately $998,630.
• Lathon also defrauded the Railroad Retirement Board out of sickness benefit payments, obtaining approximately $63,047 in false claims between September 2014 and January 2020.
• Lathon and her husband were investigated by multiple agencies, including the Amtrak Office of Inspector General, the United States Railroad Retirement Board Office of Inspector General, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
• Lathon's husband, Kenneth Lathon, was previously sentenced to 54 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $998,630 in restitution for his role in the scheme.
• The CARES Act, signed into law in 2020, expanded eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits and established the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

Statistics:

• $998,630: Losses to EDD and the United States Treasury due to 44 fraudulent unemployment claims
• $1,061,667: Total restitution ordered for Lizette Lathon
• $63,047: Amount of sickness benefit payments fraudulently obtained by Lizette Lathon
• 2014: Year Lizette Lathon began operating her tax preparation businesses, including Miracle Tax Service and Hardcore Corp.
• 2020: Year the CARES Act was signed into law, expanding eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits
• 2021: Year Lizette Lathon's employment at Amtrak ended
• 25 months: Sentence of Lizette Berrios Lathon in federal prison for pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits fraud

Sources:

• United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California
• Amtrak Office of Inspector General
• United States Railroad Retirement Board Office of Inspector General
• United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General
• California Employment Development Department
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• Homeland Security Investigations
• United States Postal Inspection Service
• Assistant United States Attorney Cory L. Burleson (Riverside Branch Office)