This is a joint investigation with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, USPS-OIG, the FBI, and IRS-CI. United States v. Nermin Awad El Hadik (W.D. Texas) California Labor Crew Boss Sentenced to More Than 3 Years in Prison for Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme On June 4, 2018, Fernando Alanis, 55, of Rio Grande City, Texas, was sentenced to 39 months in prison for his role in an Unemployment Insurance (UI) fraud scheme.

This is a joint investigation with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, USPS-OIG, the FBI, and IRS-CI. United States v. Nermin Awad El Hadik (W.D. Texas)

California Labor Crew Boss Sentenced to More Than 3 Years in Prison for Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme On June 4, 2018, Fernando Alanis, 55, of Rio Grande City, Texas, was sentenced to 39 months in prison for his role in an Unemployment Insurance (UI) fraud scheme. 

Alanis and others participated in a scheme to defraud the California Employment Development Department (EDD) of UI benefits. Alanis was a supervisor with a local farm labor contractor that provided contract labor for growers and packers. Alanis provided the personally identifiable information of individuals, including his relatives and acquaintances, to workers, some of whom were undocumented, so they could obtain employment with the farm labor contractor under the assumed identities. 

They then worked as seasonal farm laborers and earned wages. When the workers were laid off at the end of the season, with Alanis’s knowledge and assistance, false and fraudulent UI claims were filed in the names of the assumed identities. This caused EDD to send UI checks and benefit debit cards to the addresses of the owners of the assumed identities, who were not entitled to the benefits. 

The individuals lending their identities would either share some of the benefits with Alanis or pay Alanis in advance of the UI claims being made. Alanis’s direct and indirect conduct resulted in a loss to EDD of more than $450,000.