A Vista man who fraudulently secured more than $300,000 in unemployment benefits was sentenced Monday to four years and nine months in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.According to prosecutors, Cotton submitted at least 16 bogus applications to the state, with the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of others.
Leila Morgan, Cotton’s defense attorney, said Cotton believed he was taking money from the government but didn’t realize until after his arrest that he could have left jobless people without unemployment benefits, according to court documents. Morgan added that Cotton did not come up with the idea for the scheme, but did accept responsibility for the crime.
Cotton came under investigation in late 2020 after two encounters with law enforcement officers. Both times staff at hotels — one in Carmel Valley, the other in Carlsbad — called police after Cotton checked in under suspicious circumstances, according to court records.
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