A Princeton woman was sentenced to three years in state prison on Monday for her part in an unemployment fraud scheme that cost California taxpayers more than $53,000.
Skye Flores Zapien, 35, pleaded no contest Jan. 24 to grand theft, unemployment insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit a crime in a plea deal that shaved about seven years off a possible maximum sentence.
Her husband, Raymond Zapien, 33, whom she married after the couple were charged in connection to the Highway 45 crash in 2020 that seriously injured a Princeton woman stranded on the side of the road on a diabled ATV, is serving eight years in North Kern State Prison for attempted murder, and eight months for collecting unemployment with Flores’ help, while he was incarcerated in the Colusa County Jail.
California EDD officials estimate that $20 billion has been paid out in fraudulent benefits, including billions to prison and jail inmates, since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
While Flores Zapien was aiding her incarcerated co-conspirator in collecting unemployment, she was on formal probation after being convicted of child endangerment and accessory after the fact in connection to the car crash, according to District Attorney Matthew Beauchamp.
Flores Zapien wept quietly during her sentencing in Colusa County Superior Court. She has been in custody on $100,000 bail since her re-arrest on conspiracy and fraud charges last September, after Judge Jeffrey A. Thompson refused to release her on her own recognizances for violating his order not to have contact with Zapien, either in person or electronically.
Flores will receive credit for 257 days in time served and good conduct credits, and will be on parole or Post Release Community Supervision for three years upon release from prison, Thompson said.
She was also ordered to pay fines and fees, and pay the State of California the $53,500 that was fraudulently collected in unemployment.
Raymond Zapien will be eligible for parole in 2027. ■