KTLA

Woman who schemed with CA state employee to fraudulently file $373K in disability claims sentenced to prison

A California Employment Development Department building is seen in a photo posted on the agency's Flickr account in September 2018.

A woman was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years in prison for scheming with a California state employee to file hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent claims for disability insurance benefits.

Angela Stubblefield, of Tacoma, Washington, was also ordered by a judge to pay nearly $220,000 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

Stubblefield’s co-defendant Katherine Decker worked for the California Employment Development Department. Decker used her position to file fraudulent claims and illegally extend existing claims using the identities of real people with and without their knowledge, the statement said.

In total, the conspiracy resulted in 15 fraudulent disability claims, with a loss to the state of more than $373,000 dating back to 2013, according to officials.

Stubblefield, 49, was ordered to report to prison by Feb. 1, 2021.

Decker was sentenced in September to three years and seven months in prison for the benefits fraud and identity theft scheme.