Valley woman victimized by unemployment fraud struggles to pay bills
A valley woman victimized by unemployment fraud is looking for help as she struggles to pay bills this holiday season.
"I haven't gotten a single penny from my unemployment since September," said Palm Springs resident Kaitlin Rhodes. She's been out of work since she was in a serious car accident.
"My immune system is so weak from my car accident that I had no choice so i went ahead and enrolled in unemployment," she said.
After taxes, Rhodes was getting about $300 every two weeks. The process was smooth, she said, until she received a second EDD card in the mail.
"I was really confused because I didn't request a cardl it just kind of showed up in the mail," Rhodes said. The bank said it was issued because of a discrepancy with her name, and told her to use the new one.
"That's when all the fraud started happening, faster than ever," she said. "I've never seen anything like that."
She was initially reimbursed, but the fraud continued and she's now out thousands of dollars – and struggling to find help.
"They always told me, 'If it makes you feel any better, this has happened to a lot of Americans. This is happening all the time,'" Rhodes said.
EDD said as of last month, there were more than 1 million cases of identity verification complaints, which need to be processed manually.
This as law enforcement across California is uncovering what's being called the worst case of fraud in state history.
Investigators said inmates at county jails and prisons schemed the Employment Development Department, receiving unemployment benefits by using fake names and social security numbers through bogus accounts. It may have cost taxpayers up to $1 billion.
Rhodes said she hopes she and others affected find relief quickly. "I don't want anybody else to feel this way. I don't want anybody to have this financial stress."
EDD said their top priority remains resolving claims impacted by scammer attacks. They also said new safeguards are in place to prevent future fraud.
