Oakland woman convicted in $336K unemployment fraud scam gets prison
An Oakland woman was sentenced to 33 months and a day in federal prison for making fraudulent unemployment insurance claims using stolen identities, according to federal prosecutors.
Kari Marie Russo, 46, and a co-defendant, 35-year-old Steven Dunsmore, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 3, 2023. On Dec. 10, 2024, Russo pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent use of an unauthorized access device, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of failure to appear, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement Monday.
Based on court documents, Russo and Dunsmore began to submit in June 2020 hoax unemployment insurance claims to California's Employment Development Department while illegally using other people's personal information, such as names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers.
Federal prosecutors said Russo and Dunsmore received around $336,545 in EDD funds.
Moreover, Russo was also on pretrial release so she could take part in a residential drug treatment program, but she left without permission and failed to appear in court on Jan. 8, 2024. The U.S. Marshals Service nabbed her on June 11, 2024.
Besides her prison term, Russo was ordered to pay $336,545 in restitution, jointly and severally with Dunsmore.
Also an Oakland resident, Dunsmore pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2024 to two counts of fraudulent use of an unauthorized access device and two counts of aggravated identity theft. On June 17, 2024, he was sentenced to two years and a day in federal prison and was also ordered to pay $336,545 in restitution.
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