LOS ANGELES – A former Amtrak employee pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for conspiring with her husband to steal nearly $1 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and for fraudulently obtaining more than $63,000 in sickness benefits while she worked at Amtrak.
Lizette Berrios Lathon, 45, of Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty to a three-count information charging her with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and wire fraud.
Lathon’s husband, Kenneth Andrew Lathon, 48, also of Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty to a three-count information charging him with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to her plea agreement, from 2014 until the present day, Lizette Lathon, in addition to her one-time duties as a service attendant for Amtrak, operated at least three tax preparation businesses: Miracle Tax Service, which was located on Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile; Hardcore Corp., which did business as “Hardcore Taxes;” and Lathon LLC. The latter two companies were located in Moreno Valley.
Lathon and her husband took advantage of the expanded eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law in 2020. The CARES Act also established the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provided additional UI benefits to qualified...
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