Ringleader of $5M State Unemployment Benefit Fraud Scheme Sentenced

A man who orchestrated a scheme that federal prosecutors say took more than $5 million in unearned California unemployment benefits was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.

David Constantin, 28, was charged along with 13 others with wire fraud and money laundering for arranging for hundreds of people to fraudulently apply for California Employment Development Department benefits.

Prosecutors said Constantin and “co-mastermind of the scheme” Constantin Bobi Sandu worked with others to take nearly $5.2 million in state unemployment benefits over the course of two years with the help of 213 co-conspirators.

The defendants submitted EDD applications in which the applicants claimed to be fully employed U.S. citizens living in California. The applications were supported with phony documentation such as fake tax forms, insurance cards, and utility bills, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

After the money was paid out by the state, it was laundered by transferring the funds to the defendants’ home country of Romania and often used to buy luxury items.

Along with prison, Constantin was ordered to pay $5,178.276 in restitution to the state.

Several others have already been sentenced, including Sandu, who was sentenced last year to 40 months in prison. A number of other defendants are still being sought by authorities.