Man must repay $3.3M in EDD fraud, California prosecutors say. He also got prison time

A Bakersfield-area man was sentenced by a Fresno court to nine years in prison and required to repay more than $3.3 million in fraudulent unemployment benefits claims, according to a prosecutors.

The five years of fraudulent claims between March 2010 and March 2015 were paid out to Javier Jimenez Alvarez, 52, of Arvin, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

He was sentenced for a count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and a count of conspiracy to launder money in fraud claims of $3,397,775, the release said.

Jimenez Alvarez submitted claims to the California Employment Development Department, also called the EDD, for benefits for people who were not eligible, prosecutors said.

EDD paid those people with debit cards, which Jimenez Alvarez and others used to get cash, the release said. He would follow up those claims with new claims and get more benefits.

“Additionally, Jimenez Alvarez knowingly and intentionally attempted to conceal these transactions and convert all of the stolen funds into cash,” the release said.