California man pleaded guilty to laundering $59M in public benefits to China
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — A man from California has pleaded guilty in court for using unemployment compensation to run a fake business selling COVID-19 personal protective equipment. Two others have been charged in the same case.
Bruce Jin, 60, Brain Cleland, 71, and Carlo Grijalva, 59, all of Los Angeles, California, were charged in August 2023. Jin pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Jan. 20, and is set to be sentenced after United States District Court Judge Jennifer Wilson reviews the indictment. The three are believed to have laundered $59 million.
Jin, Cleland, Grijalva and other coconspirators conspired to obtain state unemployment compensation funds, as well as other public funds, through fraudulent means, according to the indictment. The group allegedly appeared to operate legitimate businesses that sold masks and other COVID-19 personal protective equipment, when in reality, the funds that were obtained and laundered were from fraudulently obtained state unemployment compensation.
Furthermore, thousands of bank accounts established across the United States used the personal identifying information of identity theft victims. The fraudulent claims were then filed through the accounts, according to the indictment.
After the funds were paid out, they were then transferred from identity theft victims' accounts to companies controlled by Jin, Cleland and Grijalva. For example, the three are alleged to have obtained over $45 million in fraudulent funds from the accounts of the victims, with most money being transferred to 'companies' controlled by Jin.
Once Jin received the funds, he would then make international wire transfers totaling over $35 million to a bank account in China. The indictment noted that Jin also transferred $2 million directly to who is believed to be a coconspirator.
'The Department of Justice is committed to identifying and punishing those who defrauded pandemic-era benefits programs, regardless of where they are located,' Mandy Riedel, Director, COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement, said. 'I commend the hard work of the prosecutors and investigators in the Middle District of Pennsylvania who doggedly pursued these organized overseas criminals to seek justice and the return of stolen tax payer funds.'
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma is prosecuting the case.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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