PHOENIX — Three Valley residents have been ordered to pay restitution to the Arizona Department of Economic Security after they used the identities of prison inmates to fraudulently apply for pandemic relief.
The U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona announced Thursday that three defendants had been convicted for their participation in a scheme meant to obtain unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Likishe Kelly, 43, of Phoenix was sentenced last week to three years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was ordered to pay $375,094 in restitution.
Christine Boston, 52, of Mesa was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $97,596.
Boston was incarcerated at a prison in Goodyear when she began submitting information about other inmates to Kelly and 36-year-old Antoinette Coleman.
Kelly would then file applications for unemployment benefits in the name of Boston and other inmates. Kelly would then compensate Boston by depositing money into the inmate's commissary account, prosecutors said.
Throughout 2020, Kelly and the other defendants submitted up to 42 fraudulent applications.
Coleman was sentenced last week to five years of probation and ordered to pay $19,678 in restitution. The total amount of restitution to DES is about $492,000.
The three defendants were not the only people to carry out this type of scheme in Arizona.
Last year, three people were sentenced for using the inmates of the Pima County jail to apply for unemployment benefits during the pandemic.
UP TO SPEED
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.