A Commerce City man charged with defrauding Colorado’s unemployment insurance system of more than $25,000 in 2020 will serve a three-year state prison sentence, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced in a Monday news release.
Ryan Garbiso, 43, pleaded guilty on Jan. 9 to charges of identity theft and falsifying a tax return after acquiring the personal information of two dead individuals and filing for $25,051 in unemployment insurance under their names, according to the arrest warrant affidavit linked in the release.
After the claims were approved, Garbiso then accessed the funds through several bank accounts, continually provided false information to state officials and even impersonated his victims on multiple occasions, the release said.
“Unemployment benefits were a lifeline for thousands of workers and their families during the pandemic, and this defendant stole not only from those workers, but all Colorado taxpayers,” Weiser said in the release.
As part of the plea agreement, Garbiso also will pay back $25,051 to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and $1,684 to the Colorado Department of Revenue, according to the release.
