Three women have been charged in connection with an ongoing investigation into a massive fraud scheme that involved inmates in California prisons and jails applying for unemployment benefits.
Reportedly one of the women, Andrea Gervais, previously worked for the Employment Development Department. The two other women charged by federal prosecutors include an inmate at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla and a parolee who allegedly filed false claims pretending to be an out-of-work hairdresser.
Officials say the state paid out $400,000 in assistance payments for the fraudulent claims, with some of the money going toward plastic surgery for one of the women. The total losses are estimated to be as high as two-billion-dollars.