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A Pasadena man was sentenced Thursday to 10 years behind bars for using stolen identities to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits under the coronavirus federal relief act, which he later used to purchase a Maserati luxury SUV.
Robert Mateer, 32, was also ordered to pay $937,173 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Mateer pleaded guilty last year in Los Angeles to federal charges of use of unauthorized access devices, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of ammunition.
During a traffic stop in October 2020, Pasadena Police Department officers arrested Mateer and found inside his Maserati unemployment benefits debit cards, several other credit and debit cards, about $197,711 in cash, more than 85 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded Glock-type pistol with no serial number, prosecutors said.
Evidence gathered during the investigation determined that at least 14 of the 17 debit cards were loaded with at least $133,000 in unemployment insurance benefits, later determined to have been issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and had been issued in the names of third parties, including identity theft victims.
The California Employment Development Department distributes unemployment insurance benefits under the CARES Act, which expanded unemployment benefits to cover those who were previously ineligible, including business owners, self-employed workers and independent contractors who were put out of business or significantly reduced their services because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mateer admitted to obtaining the unemployment benefits debit cards by using “thousands” of identity profiles in his possession, that each debit card was loaded with $14,500, and that he used the fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits to purchase the Maserati, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Mateer also admitted that he withdrew the $197,711 in cash found in his Maserati from ATMs across the Los Angeles area. Mateer also withdrew $13,840 from the EDD debit cards in his possession.
