Court rejects shorter jail term for Velarde man in $1.3M fraud case
Jasonn Gonzales, used the names of 108 people in his scam, but he argued that there were only three victims in the case.
An accountant from Velarde sentenced to federal prison for stealing Social Security numbers and other personal information to claim more than $1.3 million in unemployment benefits has lost his appeal for a reduced sentence.
The defendant, Jasonn Gonzales, used the names of 108 people in his scam, but he argued that there were only three victims in the case.
A federal appeals court last week rejected Gonzales’ motion to overturn his sentence of more than 9 years in prison. The court disagreed with his version that the only victims of the yearslong scheme were the state employment programs he defrauded in New Mexico, Colorado and Texas.
Gonzales, 44, pleaded guilty to four counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft in February.
Federal guidelines call for lengthening sentences in identity theft cases when the personal information of more than 50 people is stolen.
Lawyers representing Gonzales argued only the three states suffered any financial loss. But a panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote: “It is reasonable to treat criminal conduct more seriously as the number of stolen identities increases.”
Federal prosecutors say that from 2009-12, Gonzales and another man, Gerald Archuleta of Ojo Caliente, registered nonexistent companies with workforce agencies in New Mexico, Colorado and Texas and reported laying off employees they had never hired.
Gonzales got some of the birth dates, Social Security numbers and other personal information from clients he assisted with tax returns and from personnel files of employees at businesses where he worked as an accountant, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said the men rented mailboxes in the three states to receive the unemployment benefits for those employees and then stole the money.
Gonzales is serving his sentence at a federal prison in Big Spring, Texas. He is scheduled to be released in May 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Gonzales also was ordered to pay back the $804,735.73 he collected through the scheme.
