Tehachapi inmate sentenced for largest EDD fraud case in the country

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — An inmate at Tehachapi’s California Correctional Institution has been sentenced after pleading guilty to spearheading what attorneys say was the largest Economic Development Department fraud case in the nation.

Telvin Breaux, 32, received a 65-month prison term Monday for the $25 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme, according to a filing in federal court. Prosecutors say more than $5 million was paid out.

Breaux’s attorney, Alekxia Torres Stallings, said he’d initially faced decades in prison.

“My client is extremely remorseful for his conduct in this case, but I also think it is an eye-awakening moment for the State of California because they too have an obligation to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent actions like this from occurring in the future,” she said.

Breaux and three co-defendants stole personal identifying information and submitted more than 400 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.

They used names of patients at hospitals and dentists’ offices and customers at other businesses where the co-defendants worked, prosecutors said. They also used the names of their children and children of family and friends.

The money went toward rent, jewelry, vehicles, luxury handbags, trips to Las Vegas, tuition and expensive furniture.

Shanice White, of Hawthorne, and Los Angeles residents Fantasia Brown and Holly White also pleaded guilty.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.