(Press Release) U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that 59-year-old Cheryl Lynn Frazier of Fresno, was arraigned in court Tuesday on a federal grand jury indictment, filed on March 22, 2012, which charges her with 14 counts of mail fraud.
According to the indictment, between October 2008 and April 2011, Frazier fraudulently claimed and received state unemployment benefits despite being a full-time IRS employee. Frazier had been a seasonal employee with the IRS and during the off-season, she received unemployment benefits from the California Employment Development Department (EDD). In October 2008, Frazier became a full-time IRS employee, but continued claiming unemployment benefits by under-reporting or omitting her hours and wages on claim forms mailed to EDD. Frazier continued receiving unemployment checks mailed by EDD until her scheme was detected in April 2011.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the California Employment Development Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ian Garriques is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Frazier faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
TXT 24
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