A Westchester man who provided lifestyle and personal development coaching in public schools through a nonprofit he founded pleaded guilty Monday to fraudulently applying for millions of dollars in COVID- 19 jobless benefits, partly by using stolen identities.
Want to get caught up on what’s happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
Reginald Foster Jr., 38, entered his plea in downtown Los Angeles to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud, and one count of use of unauthorized access devices, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Foster exploited the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance provision of the CARES Act, which was designed to expand access to unemployment benefits to self-employed workers, independent contractors and others who would not otherwise have been eligible because of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal prosecutors said.
According to court papers, 118 fraudulent applications were submitted, and Foster used the cards to take possession of benefits through transfers to his nonprofit, Champs Up! LLC, and made $1,000 withdrawals at ATMs.
Foster would also transfer cards to co-conspirators, who used them to make additional ATM withdrawals, prosecutors said.
Nearly $1.5 million was withdrawn through the scheme, but the benefits were frozen when the scheme was uncovered, preventing additional losses of more than $4 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi scheduled a March 24 sentencing hearing. Foster faces up to 30 years in federal prison for the conspiracy count and up to 10 years in federal prison for the unauthorized access devices count, prosecutors noted.
Co-defendants Shelece Counts, 31, of the Westlake area, and Isaiah Herbert Lawrence, 31, of Houston, Texas, pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and are scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 21 in L.A. federal court.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok