Robert Lee Lett, Mail Fraud, California 2023

A Lancaster couple has been sentenced to prison for their role in a mail fraud scheme that defrauded the California Employment Development Department (EDD) of over $900,000.

Robert Lee Lett, 48, and his wife LaTanya Annette Lett, 44, were sentenced on Monday, March 20, 2023, by United States District Judge Andre Birotte Jr.

Robert Lee Lett was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison while LaTanya Annette Lett received a 46-month prison term. In addition to their prison sentences, the couple was ordered to pay restitution in the total amount of $900,711.

The Letts pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud on January 25, 2023. According to court documents, they defrauded the EDD by filing 127 fraudulent disability applications between 2011 and 2015. These applications were filed in the names of identity theft victims and included bogus certifications of disability with forged doctors’ signatures.

The Letts arranged to have mail received in the victims’ names at a dozen different addresses and repeatedly used the disability benefits cards they received in the mail to withdraw over $900,000 in cash from ATMs during the four-year period.

United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker stated, ‘This was a serious offense in which the defendants intended to steal at least $1.5 million, and actually obtained more than $900,000 over the course of several years.’ The crime was well-planned, repetitious, and long-term, which has earned them terms in federal prison.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Postal Inspection Service, California Employment Development Department, Investigation Division, and the United States Secret Service.

Related Federal Cases