Two Plead Guilty to Unemployment Insurance Benefits Fraud Conspiracy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Las Vegas residents Ricky Lee Ware, 43, and Kimberly Ann Wallace, 30, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, between July 2020 and January 2021, the defendants conspired to obtain debit cards that allowed them to access unemployment benefits. The unemployment benefits were in the names of people who did not know the defendants. The defendants then used the debit cards to withdraw more than $900,000 in unemployment benefits from ATMs.

Read the entire press release. U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, October 16, 2026.