Prosecutors said Wednesday that a California woman was charged with using the names of convicted killers, including Scott Peterson, to collect more than $145,000 in fraudulent unemployment benefits — a small but headline-grabbing portion of more than $20 billion stolen in similar scams during the coronavirus pandemic.
Brandy Iglesias appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday on ten counts of grand theft, forgery, identity theft, and making false statements, according to the California attorney general’s office.
Iglesias refused to enter a plea. She was ordered held on $20,000 bail pending a court date on October 26.
Her attorney, Ariana Alejandre, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
One set of charges was for claiming $18,562 from the state Employment Development Department in June 2020 using Peterson’s name. On Christmas Eve 2002, Peterson was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn child and dumping their bodies into San Francisco Bay. However, a judge is deciding whether Peterson needs a new trial due to juror misconduct.
Iglesias is also accused of filing for unemployment in 2020 under the name Cary Stayner and receiving $20,194. Stayner admitted to killing three women while on vacation in Yosemite National Park in 1999.
Prosecutors said in 2020 that Peterson and Stayner were among many inmates who had claims filed in their names.
Prosecutors said Iglesias worked for a private company that contracted with San Quentin State Prison, where Peterson and Stayner are housed and may have used her job to gain access to prisoners’ personal information.
Iglesias is accused of receiving fraudulent benefits from April 2020 to September 2021.
A team of agents from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation apprehended her on Saturday in Contra Costa County.
“Don’t let the infamous names distract you from who this crime truly harmed — our society’s most vulnerable,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in announcing the charges.
Such thefts also harm “needy families, parents laid off during a pandemic, and Californians struggling to make ends meet,” he said.
According to Bonta, Iglesias also applied for unemployment benefits in her own name.
According to his office, she was convicted of robbery in Contra Costa County in 2005.
California has one of the largest public benefits systems in the country. Over the last decade, more than 20 million people filed more than 60 million claims for unemployment, disability insurance, and paid family leave.
It was sending out more than 600,000 application documents per day at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when many people were unable to continue working due to business lockdowns.
According to the California Employment Development Department, the state prevented $120 billion in fraud attempts in 2020 and 2021 but failed to prevent $20 billion in fraud.
This included $810 million paid in the names of approximately 45,000 inmates who were not eligible.
