California man gets 14 years for $5M unemployment scam

A Southern California man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for a massive unemployment insurance scam.

Jack Hessiani from Camarillo was sentenced yesterday. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud last year.

Prosecutors say Hessiani and others collected nearly $5 million in unemployment insurance by creating dozens of phony companies with fake employees.

Authorities say the schemers submitted claims to the government for unemployment insurance for supposedly laid-off workers. In fact, prosecutors say many were people who agreed to provide their personal ID information in exchange for a cut of the insurance benefits, including drug users and poor students.

Hessiani's brother and two other men also pleaded guilty in the scheme and await sentencing.