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Nine inmates in San Diego County charged with scamming Employment Development Department

Eric Risberg/AP

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2016 file photo, a condemned inmate is led out of his east block cell on death row at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency confirmed Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, that California has sent about $400 million in unemployment benefits to state prison inmates. In all records show 31,000 inmates have applied for benefits and about 20,800 were paid $400 million. A group of local and federal prosecutors said 133 inmates on death row were named in claims. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

By: Anthony Wright, 23ABC

Posted at 10:51 AM, Jan 15, 2021

and last updated 2021-01-15 13:51:41-05

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KERO) — Nine inmates in San Diego County have been charged with scamming the Employment Development Department.

The district attorney's office said the inmates received more than $160,000 through fraud committed between June and September last year.

The inmates lied about their eligibility and addresses on EDD applications while they were assigned to a program that allows certain inmates to finish their sentences in halfway houses.

The state has acknowledged that the department has been scammed out of hundreds of millions of dollars due to fraudulent claims.

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