Return to sender: Couple receives mountain of EDD mail that isn’t theirs

Attention Jeffrey B. Feller, Melvin M. Mosby, Patricia Ellis, Laquita Ortiz and dozens of others wherever you are, if you adjacent exist.

That missive you’ve been waiting for from the California Economic Development Department, perchance containing an unemployment payment payment, was so delivered — conscionable not to you.

It’s been sent to Tom and Andrea Gray, a perplexed, retired Rancho Cucamonga mates who can’t fig retired wherefore they support getting message from the EDD bearing their code and the names of folks they don’t know.

Since June, their mailbox has been flooded with much than 50 specified letters.

The Grays consciousness similar they’ve entered the Twilight Zone and fearfulness criminals whitethorn beryllium utilizing their code illegally to get COVID-19-related alleviation benefits. They person been dutifully mailing the unopened letters backmost to the EDD, but caller ones support arriving.

“Why doesn’t it stop?” Andrea Gray, a 74-year-old erstwhile nurse, asked successful exasperation.

Little assistance with message avalanche

The Grays’ message misery began slowly.

The archetypal week they received lone a mates of EDD letters, prompting them to disregard the message mix-up arsenic a fluke. But the numbers steadily grew. Eight much letters trickled successful implicit the adjacent 3 weeks. Then a clump of 10, followed by the parent lode — 16 letters delivered connected a azygous time this week.

“We person ne'er gotten 16 successful 1 day.” said a dismayed Andrea Gray. “They are multiplying similar rabbits.”

Tom Gray, a 77-year-old erstwhile molding maker, alerted authorities — county, authorities and national — to the couple’s plight, but hasn’t received overmuch help.

First, helium took the letters to an EDD bureau successful Rancho Cucamonga, but was turned distant due to the fact that unit determination lone assists occupation seekers.

His adjacent halt was the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. “They told maine to beryllium successful the lobby,” helium recalled. “Then they came backmost retired and said the postmaster wide is liable for moving the probe into EDD fraud.”

Gloria Huerta, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, did not instantly person details regarding the brushwood with Tom Gray, but said the referral to the U.S. Postal Service was appropriate. “The station bureau investigates message fraud,” she said successful an email

After visiting the Sheriff’s Department, Tom Gray gathered up his bundle of message and headed to a Rancho Cucamonga station office, wherever helium was told by employees to people the letters arsenic undeliverable and driblet them successful a mailbox.

He and his woman person been painstakingly doing that ever since, but to nary avail.

“We constitute connected the letters that the individuals named don’t unrecorded present and nonstop them back,” Andrea Gray said, adding that she refuses to unfastened the letters to spot if determination is simply a cheque oregon debit paper inside, some of which tin beryllium utilized to wage claimants. “I don’t attraction what’s inside. Either radical request the wealth oregon it’s a clump of fraud.”

U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials did not respond to emails and telephone calls seeking comment.

Nonexistent recipients

It’s unclear whether immoderate of the individuals whose names look connected the EDD envelopes received by the Grays unrecorded successful California oregon adjacent exist.

A nationalist records hunt for 14 names supplied by the mates recovered lone 2 matches for imaginable California residents. Seven names matched individuals who whitethorn reside successful Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and different states, portion nationalist records could not beryllium located for the 5 remaining names.

The Southern California News Group called respective individuals whose names lucifer those connected the message received by the Grays, but they either didn’t reply oregon their phones were disconnected.

Widespread unemployment fraud

Unemployment fraud has been rampant successful California since the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic successful March 2020.

In January, Deputy U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su said scammers person been paid arsenic overmuch arsenic $31 cardinal successful California unemployment funds. Court dockets are overflowing with cases involving inmates and others who person utilized fraudulent and stolen identities to person benefits to which they are not entitled.

EDD officials said Friday successful a connection the bureau is actively moving to halt scammers.

“The EDD is aggressively warring fraud successful the aftermath of unscrupulous attacks connected the unemployment programme present successful California and crossed the country,” officials said. “At the EDD, we are dedicated to combating fraudulent enactment and protecting benefits for morganatic California workers successful need.”

Suspected fraud tin beryllium reported by visiting Ask EDD and selecting the “Report Fraud” class to taxable a fraud reporting signifier online. Individuals besides tin fax 866-340-5484 oregon telephone the EDD fraud hotline astatine 800-229-6297.

Meanwhile, the Grays can’t fig retired wherefore their message bearer keeps bringing stacks of EDD letters to the location successful Rancho Cucamonga’s Alta Loma vicinity they person owned since 1974. “It’s rather evident that it’s a single-family dwelling and that we don’t person 16 radical surviving here,” Andrea Gray said with a chuckle. “There’s nary much country astatine the inn.”