Citrus Heights woman pleads guilty in million-dollar unemployment fraud scheme

By Sara Beth Williams–
A 34-year-old Citrus Heights woman pleaded guilty to a string of fraud charges in relation to an Unemployment Insurance Benefits fraud scheme according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Rochelle Pasley of Citrus Heights pleaded guilty last Friday to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced in a Feb. 27 press release.

Court documents show Pasley and Deshawn Oshaea Campbell, another Citrus Heights resident, “conspired to defraud” by filing fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) seeking Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits under the CARES Act between June and December of 2020. The defendants obtained identifying information of other individuals and used their identities to submit dozens of fake claims, according to the release. Many of the individuals whose identities were used were not residents of California, making them ineligible for benefits from EDD.

Fraudulent applications filed said that claimants had recently lost employment or were unable to find employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and used mailing addresses that were under control of Pasley, Campbell, or family and friends of the two.

According to the release, EDD approved more than 50 fraudulent claims and paid out more than $1 million in unemployment insurance benefits through EDD debit cards. Benefit cards were mailed out to the defendants, and defendants then withdrew and made direct purchases “all for their own benefit.”

Pasley is scheduled to be sentenced June 26, 2025, and faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conspiracy and mail fraud, along with a mandatory, consecutive two-year prison term for aggravated identity theft.

Charges are still pending against Campbell and are only considered allegations “until and unless [Campbell is] proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” the release said.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and the EDD Investigation Division took part in investigating the case against Pasley.