RIVERSIDE, CA – On October 15, 2020, Jazmin Ugalde, 31-years-old of Riverside, was arrested at the Riverside Superior Court after her appearance for an unrelated identity theft and fraud case. She was ultimately booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for several new violations of identity theft with prior convictions and unemployment insurance fraud.
Detectives from the Riverside Police Department’s Economic Crimes Unit were following up on an identity theft investigation when they learned Ms. Ugalde was using several victims’ identities to fraudulently acquire EDD unemployment benefits. They obtained and served a search warrant for the residence where Ms. Ugalde was believed to be staying, located in the 4900 block of La Sierra Avenue, and discovered personal identifying information for many additional victims. They determined these identities were also being used to obtain EDD unemployment benefits.
Ms. Ugalde was not present when detectives served the search warrant, but they learned she had an upcoming court date for a separate case involving theft and fraud charges. As she arrived for her hearing, detectives placed her under arrest. When arrested, Ms. Ugalde was found in possession of another EDD benefits card for one of the victims in this investigation.
The State of California Employment Development Department (EDD) normally investigates these benefit fraud cases, however, their system has been completely overwhelmed with the dramatic increase in cases. This has led to local law enforcement agencies now investigating the frauds occurring within their own jurisdictions. The Economic Crimes Unit has been very proactive with these investigations, and have dozens still pending completion. To date, there have been hundreds of incidents of EDD fraud reported in our city.
Fraud attempts are always occurring in our communities, but have become more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please keep up to date with the various types of fraud and scams by visiting the FBI’s website at https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes .
If anyone has additional information regarding this fraud investigation and arrest, please contact Detective Cory Camp at (951) 353-7117 or [email protected]. If you believe you are a victim of EDD benefit fraud occurring in the city of Riverside, please report it by calling our non-emergency dispatch number at (951) 354-2007.
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